Vacation in Lazytown
by LinaNamiStar
Summary: Lina Leisurely is her name, and she comes to Lazytown. But the surprising thing is, she knows Robbie? Who is she to Robbie and why is Robbie acting differently towards her? RobbiexOC and may have SportaSteph. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Lazytown continued to change into being more active with the help of Sportacus and Stephanie. Everyone started eating more vegetables and fruits. Well, the only exception is Robbie Rotten. Children had been playing outside more often. But of course, Robbie Rotten disliked that most of all. He hated how people weren't being lazier often. And of course, he would always try to find a way to stop it. But so far, it failed. It had been going on like this for a while now, and Robbie got tired of it. So, finally, he decided to pack up and leave Lazytown. Well, until, he is stopped by a new person coming into town.

"Hey, you! The one in purple wearing stripes!" The lady yelled over at Robbie. Robbie looked over at her and pointed at himself, rather surprised. She nodded at him. He then started to look left and right, knowing full well he was the only one there other than her.

"What is it?" He asked snippily. She rolled her eyes at his tone.

"Is this place called Lazytown?" She asked. Robbie wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"_Another uninvited guest_," he thought with a feeling of annoyance.

"Yeah," he answered unhappily.

"Thanks," she told him but then saw him carrying his luggage in both hands. "You're leaving this place?"

"It's none of your beeswax! Now leave me alone!" He yelled at her as she shrugged until a light bulb hit her.

"Hey, you're Robbie Rotten, aren't you?" She asked. Robbie gasped, surprised that she knew him. Was he famous?

"Why? How do you know this Robbie Rotten?" He asked, now curious.

"Well, if you're not Robbie Rotten, I'm not telling you." She smirked mischievously, knowing full well without needing an answer.

"Well, I am." He pointed at himself proudly. "Now, tell me, how do you know me," he asked while looking left and right of her.

"Found ya," she said with a smile before holding the back of his collar.

"What? What are you doing," he yelled, trying to run away but found the lady stronger.

"You're not going anywhere, Mr. Rotten. You've changed, Robbie. You used to be so active and nice when we were children unlike your parents," the woman said before she sighed and shaking her head at the look of him.

"How...? Who are you?" Robbie demanded. The young woman let go of him and smiled.

"Lina," she answered simply. Robbie's eyes widened and then he started walking around her, inspecting her from left to right. His eyes looked up and down. His mouth widened. And if any flies were around, they would certainly make a home in it.

"Li-Lina! Lina Lesiurely?" He asked, making sure. Lina confirmed it with a nod. "Why are you here?"

"To find out what had happened to you. Heard your name on television being saved by that Sportacus hero of Lazytown," she told him in a relaxed manner. "What were you thinking about trying to climb a satellite in a gorilla suit?"

"That was long ago! Can't everyone leave me alone about that and stop bringing it up?" He yelled with frustration. Lina merely chuckled and took his hand.

"Show me around, will you?" She asked him. He looked over at her a bit and then snatched his hand away from her before he crossed his arms.

"No," he told her. His head looking away from her with closed eyes. It didn't take him long when he opened one eye to take a glimpse at her.

"Oh?" She asked while hiding a smirk. "If that's how you are going to act, I'm just going to let you be then."

"Good," he commented, still standing with the same posture.

"Hm... I am rather interested in that Sportacus hero. Well, I'll find him then. Bye Robbie. Hope you have a nice life," she said with a hint of mischief in her voice before she picked up her luggage again and slowly walking away from him as if waiting for him to stop her.

And lo and behold, Robbie Rotten's mouth fell open. He became shocked at the thought that Lina would want to see Sportacus. If she was to meet him, she would immediately fall for him. Everyone loved Sportacus except him. He couldn't let her be hypnotized by his awesomeness. He picked up his luggage and ran to her (which was unnecessary as she didn't walk that far) before he stopped in front of her.

"Let's go then!" He yelled angrily while walking side by side with her. Lina smiled secretly towards him.

"Thanks, Robbie."

"Oh, whatever," he answered with an annoyed expression.

First, he showed her to his lair/home. She looked around with an amazed expression. Robbie saw it and proudly smiled while crossing his arms. She then saw his orange fluffy chair and smiled. She looked around it but never sitting on it. He saw that as well.

"If you want to sit on it, you can. It's very comfy," he told her. She looked up at him and shook her head while smiling.

"I'm good. This place doesn't look too bad for an underground home." She then proceeded into looking at the tubes of different clothing used for Robbie's disguises. She was rather shocked to see even woman's clothing in there as well but didn't dare ask him why.

"If you're hungry, I've got cake," he told her, trying to strike up a conversation.

She didn't answer him because of being mesmerized by the inventions all around her.

"You know, Robbie, you've got a creative mind. I never saw that part of you," she said before gaining her attention towards him again. He shrugged while smiling at the compliment.

"But of course, I, Robbie Rotten, had changed over the years," he told her. Her smile immediately left her, revealing a solemn look.

"I heard you've become the laziest person in Lazytown. Why is that?" Her voice became serious this time. Robbie became surprised at her sudden change of mood.

"Be- because I wanted to," he told her. "So do you want cake or not?" She knew he wanted to change the subject. And for now, she allowed it.

"No, thanks. Sweets make me sick. I had to be hospitalized once before."

Robbie's eyes widened at her then held her shoulders before shouting, "What?"

Lina, of course, winced at him yellilng near her while his voice echoed throughout his lair.

"Aye, don't yell when I'm right beside you."

"What happened?" He questioned his voice in a normal range.

"I vomited and then fainted," she answered with a sigh. "After that, I can't consume anymore sweets. I would either get too tired or just faint."

"You sound like Sportakook," he said with a frustrated look. Every time he thinks about the above-average hero, he gets irritated.

"Sportakook?" She asked, one of her brows rose in question.

"You know that guy who goes bloop bleep bloop," he told her while making a terrible impersonation of Sportacus' moves. It made her even more confused but realized what he meant.

"You mean Sportacus?"

"Yeah, that guy."

Lina merely shook her head but smiled all the while.

"Other than that, will you show me the lovely places of Lazytown?" She took his hand while he felt quite... awkward from it. He merely nodded before going up the ladder with her behind him. He opened the heavy entrance, almost not being able to. While doing this, he thought about finding some way to open his home easier. Robbie didn't want Lina to think of him as a weakling.

"_Ach! What am I doing? I, Robbie Rotten, shouldn't be affected by anyone, not even her. I am happy the way I am_," he thought before he held out her hand to take. He almost thought about letting go of her to prove a point but that thought quickly left when he decided to help her out of the exit.

"Where to next?" She asked.

Robbie sighed with an unhappy expression. He walked around with her while pointing out the places unenthusiastically. It was about two or three places of showing her around before the teenagers of Lazytown saw them. Ziggy, not paying attention, bumped into Robbie. And of course, Robbie's nose scrunched with an angry look heading towards him. Ziggy, scared, apologized for his carelessness.

"No worries. Robbie isn't that petty, are you Robbie?" Lina lightly nudged him. Robbie only sighed and looked over at Ziggy.

"Take your little legs and go," he demanded, even though Ziggy was almost as tall as Robbie. Ziggy did return to his friends' side. Lina shook her head at Robbie's behavior.

"Um... who are you? Are you new in town?" Pixel asked when he noticed the woman beside Robbie Rotten. Robbie glared unhappily. He knew that this welcoming thing will start soon just like they did to the pink cheerleader, Stephanie.

"The name is Lina Leisurely. And actually, no. I've been to Lazytown before," she answered.

"Did you come here often? We've never seen you around before," Stingy asked.

"Or! Or maybe you're like Stephanie and only visit Lazytown on vacation!" Ziggy said excitedly. Lina chuckled at the teenage boy's excitement.

"I was actually born in Lazytown before I had to move with my parents when I was twelve," she answered.

"How come you're with Robbie Rotten? He's really rotten just like his name," Trixie told her. Lina's smile faded away just like that. Robbie was surprised and was afraid that Lina would give out unnecessary information when they were kids.

"Well, I-" she started before her mouth was muffled by Robbie's hand.

"If you please excuse us, I am showing her around Lazytown. Now, skedaddle!" He ordered while gesturing them to leave before the teenagers did so.

When they were far off, he let go of his hand that held her mouth. Lina breathed heavily from him using force. Robbie saw this and chuckled nervously.

"Why did you do that for?" She asked when her breathing became stable.

"I was afraid you'd talk about my childhood. They do not need to know that tidbit," he told her as Lina rolled her eyes.

"I was going to talk about myself before you rudely interrupted," she told him. "They should at least know my background."

"About you being an ex-bully and me being one of your victims? No way. Nuh-uh. Nope," Robbie told her as she shook her head.

"Why did you give up being nice, Robbie? Even when I bullied you from the first grade up to the fourth grade, you still were nice and never stopped helping people. Where is that Robbie Rotten?"

"Stop it, Lina. It's in the past. I will not go back to that person," he told her. Lina shook her head with a sad expression.

"_I'm going to find the old you, Robbie. I will. I promise that or else I won't be Lina Leisurely_," Lina thought.

"I guess I'm gonna get my luggage and get going then. Thanks for the tour, Robbie," she told him. Robbie's eyes widened but coughed and settled down to his usual demeanor. They left to go back to his home and there Lina picked up her luggage before he spoke again.

"Leaving Lazytown, eh. Good. Less of a headache for me," he said but inside him wanted her to stay for some reason.

"Who said I was leaving Lazytown? I was just going to get my luggage and rent an apartment," she told him. After she said that, Robbie started to get giddy but tried not to show it.

"What?" He faked a tortured look.

"Since I'm already here, I'm going to spend my vacation staying in Lazytown. I guess I'll be depending on you for a while, Robbie," Lina said with a smile before hugging him. And of course, Robbie froze, feeling rather awkward. "Well, see you tomorrow, Robbie."

She left the lair with her luggage and closed the hatch to Robbie's home. Robbie sat down on his orange fuzzy chair and smiling. He was about to eat some cake. But just as he held it, he put it back down. He then started to peep through his periscope, looking around Lazytown before he saw Lina's back. He hadn't seen her for so many odd years. And when she suddenly turned up because of hearing his name on television from a long while ago, he felt many emotions ranging from being awkward to being happy. What was she to him?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Lina woke up around five in the morning before she looked out her apartment's window; Robbie's home was a few meters away. She decided to eat some fruit before she brushed her teeth and changed her clothes for going out. Very few people were outside this early, yet she was glad. She breathed in the morning air and letting it out. She wondered, though, when Robbie's usual time to wake up was. If he was going to sleep all morning, she had to change that. It was unhealthy of him to be sleeping too much while sleeping too little would do the same. She would just let it be and observe first before she tried to do something. She then left to the sports field and just smiled.

"If there was hockey, it would be perfect," she whispered before she picked up a basketball.

She began to bounce the basketball a few times before throwing it and scoring. She continued to play basketball for a while, and she scored every time while doing so. It wasn't long before she met the blue-uniformed man falling from his airship. For some reason, she wasn't so surprised at his sudden appearance.

"Hi! My name is Sportacus," he greeted warmly while smiling his famous smile. He showed his hand for her to shake before she did so.

"My name is Lina. Lina Leisurely. Nice to meet you," she greeted back with her own smile. They both stopped shaking hands before Sportacus strikes up a conversation.

"I haven't seen you around before. Are you new?" He asked.

"I'm not new per say. I was born here, you see, and returned to meet a friend," she told him. Sportacus just nodded before he remembered her playing basketball.

"Want to play one-on-one?" He asked, pointing at the basketball. Lina smiled and nodded.

"Sure, but I've got to say, I'm a toughie," she playfully warned him. Sportacus nodded.

"Thanks for the warning. Would you like to play offense or defense first?"

"Eh, I'm not picky. You choose," she told him. Sportacus nodded and thought for a bit before he smiled.

"I'll play defense then," he told her. She nodded with a smirk.

"Don't regret it later."

They started the game with Lina bouncing the ball. Sportacus followed her every move, not letting her shoot a basket. She then faked a right before going left and shooting and scoring.

"One point for me," she told him with a smile. He nodded.

"I guess so."

They started to play again, and this time it was Sportacus' win.

"And a point for me," Sportacus said with a victory gesture.

"Oh, but for how long?" Lina smirked before checking the ball to him.

Sportacus tried to score again, but Lina took the ball from his hands and started dribbling it. Sportacus went on defense, blocking Lina's every move. She faked a right then faked a left. She went right once again and Sportacus took the bait and went left. She jumps and shoots, scoring one more score for her.

"You're good," Sportacus told her. She winked at him.

"But of course, practice helps."

They played like that for thirty minutes. And in those thirty minutes, Sportacus won one score more than Lina. They took a break while Sportacus got some apples and bottles of water for both of them.

"Thanks," Lina said before cleaning the apple with water before biting into it. "Such a good workout, I must say."

Sportacus nodded in agreement. After taking a sip of H2O and eating an apple, he stood up and started to do pushups. Lina watched him while doing so and smiled.

Not before long, Robbie Rotten woke up earlier than he had ever expected. Something felt wrong to him, so he immediately got out of his comfy armchair and looked through his periscope. He looked around and then screamed. He watched Lina and Sportacus together, chatting and smiling at each other. Robbie scrunched his nose in an unpleased manner and crossed his arms while doing so. His shoulders rose to his neck.

"What is she doing with him? Why is she smiling?" He asked loudly only to himself.

He paced back and forth unhappily. He then decided to get dressed and get to where she was. He wouldn't let her get mesmerized by that Sportakook if that was the last thing he would ever do. When he got to the two adults, he was immediately greeted by Lina followed by Sportacus.

"Morning, Robbie," she greeted and then grinned happily at him.

"Woah, this is the first time you woke up this early, Robbie," Sportacus commented with his own smile. Robbie flinched in disgust at the shining above average hero.

"Whatever. Why are you two together," Robbie asked, sounding rude like always.

"Are you jealous, Robbie?" Lina asked, smiling mischievously. Robbie reacted with widened eyes of shock and his mouth open. He turned back to normal after several seconds.

"Of course not! Psh, why would I be jealous of Sportakook?" He said, making his face easily readable that he was.

"Then you wouldn't mind playing basketball with me since that was the reason why we were chatting in the first place," Lina told him, trapping him to workout. Robbie gasped but then coughed.

"I do not play. It's too much work," Robbie told her. Lina shrugged in reaction, not showing that much of a surprise.

"Well, if that's what you want, I will just ask Sportacus to play then," Lina told him and looked over at Sportacus with a smile.

Robbie became shocked once again. He looked from Lina to Sportacus and then from Sportacus to Lina. He suddenly swung his arms around and about like a little kid with a temper tantrum and got between Sportacus and Lina.

"I'll play!" He yelled angrily, crossing his arms.

Sportacus winked at Lina as she winked at him back. Lina then looked over at Robbie with a smile and her hands on his shoulders and started messaging them. Robbie felt his shoulders relax and his arms released the tension with his arms now at his sides. When he saw him relaxed, she suddenly slapped his back lightly and smiled.

"Now, we need to work out before we play basketball. We don't want any cramps to come up when we play," Lina told him while Robbie became shocked but muttered incoherent words before doing so.

They started to stretch their bodies before doing jumping jacks. By that time, Robbie was already tired. Lina shook her head and gave him an apple. Robbie's nose scrunched once more in disgust and pushed it back to her. She shrugged and bit off the apple.

"Ready to play basketball, Robbie?" She asked while Robbie was sitting on the ground, breathing heavily.

"Does it look like I am?" He yelled angrily. Lina sighed and sat by Robbie.

"I guess we shouldn't play basketball then. Well, Sportacus, it's nice to meet you, but I'm going to take Robbie back home," Lina told him as she saw that Robbie used up too much energy that only those with unhealthy habits have.

"I'll do it. I don't think a girl carrying a guy is a good idea," Sportacus told her as Lina shrugged.

"No way! I'm not letting _him_ carry me anywhere!" Robbie yelled before coughing.

"Don't worry, Sportacus. I don't think he'll lose his dignity when you, him and I are the only ones here. And anyways, I'm quite strong," she told him before she gave Robbie a piggy-back ride without any problems. "See ya, Sportacus."

She started walking while Robbie's head lay on Lina's shoulder. Her scent smelled like fruit. Even though he hated the disgusting stuff, he liked that smell on her. He felt quite relaxed with just that and then he started to snore. Lina looked over at her side and just shook her head and smiled.

"Rest well, Robbie," she whispered.

When she finally got to his home. She gently laid him down. Robbie moved around before he felt comfortable and continued to snore. Lina chuckled at his silliness before she opened the hatch to his home. She gently nudged Robbie, but he continued to snore. Lina sighed before she nudged a bit harder. He suddenly sat up with his face only an inch away from Lina's.

"Wah!" He yelled before Lina stood up and covered her nose.

"Woah, Robbie. Your breath smells terrible," Lina told him. Robbie smelled his own breath and shrieked.

"Oh, well..." He started as Lina sighed.

"Why don't you go inside and rest? I'll spend my time by myself. It would've been fun to spend it with you though," she said before she left.

Robbie watched her leave while touching his chest. He felt rather weird. He didn't know whether it was a good or a bad thing. But after entering his lair, he couldn't sleep afterwards. He tossed and turned. And being frustrated, he yelled.

Meanwhile, Lina went back to walking around the park. She then found the teenagers from yesterday. They saw her and gathered around her.

"Good morning," Lina greeted them.

"Good morning!" They yelled in unison.

"How do you like Lazytown so far?" Pixel asked while Lina shrugged.

"Haven't stayed long enough to know," she answered.

"Oh yeah, we never got to introduce ourselves. My name is Stephanie," the teenage girl in pink told her.

"I'm Pixel," The gadget guy greeted.

"My name is..." The snooty one paused for effect before he crossed his arms, turned his head away, and said, "Stingy."

"The name is Trixie," the teen wearing three ponytails greeted.

"And I'm Ziggy!" The hyper one yelled excitedly.

"Ah, nice to know you all. And just to remind you all, I'm Lina," she told them. They all nodded.

"Welcome to Lazytown!" They all said in unison.

"Thanks for welcoming me," she told them.

"Do you go to work?" Stingy suddenly ask.

"Me? Well, I'm on vacation," she said.

"Really?" Ziggy asked. Lina chuckled and nodded.

"I just came from BusyCity. You see I'm a freelance photographer for many magazines. Part of my work includes traveling around to photograph things that peaks my interest," she told them with a smile.

"Do you make a lot of money?" Stingy asked, his mouth wide open waiting for an answer.

"Well, I guess you can say that. I do get paid enough for my traveling expenses," she answered.

"Can I see your camera?" Pixel asked. Lina smiled.

"Maybe tomorrow. I didn't bring it today."

"Have you- have you met Sportacus yet?" Ziggy asked.

"Oh yes, played basketball with him about an hour ago. He won by one point," she told them.

"It's no surprise though. He always wins," Pixel said. Everyone agreed.

"So what sport do you like?" Trixie asked.

"Oh, I must say either track or street hockey," she answered. "You guys have quite a lot of questions, don't you?"

Everyone chuckled.

"Well, it's because you're new," Stephanie said.

"You know, we're curious now. Why were you with Robbie Rotten yesterday," asked Trixie. "You seem pretty nice to be with someone as rotten as him."

"Well, I used to be a bully," she started but then she was cut off by everyone gasping before she finished. "But it was because of Robbie who helped me change for the better. Never bullied ever since."

"You mean... Robbie did something good?" Trixie asked, her mouth still wide open.

Lina smiled and said, "Yes, of course."

"What did he do?" Pixel asked. "It doesn't sound like the Robbie that we know."

"I can't say. But I can tell you this, the Robbie you see right now was way different from back then," she told them.

"Yeah, he's more rotten," Stingy said as everyone agreed. Lina sighed before she looked up at the sky.

"Have you ever heard of a hero that wore a number nine on his uniform?" She asked before looking at them in the eyes.

"No..." Ziggy, Stingy, Trixie, and Pixel said in unison.

"I did. A long time ago. It was when I first came here and asked Sportacus for help," Stephanie answered.

"He was the hero of Lazytown back when I was a child, and a very active one at that just like your hero, Sportacus. He was also one of the reasons why I've changed as well. Robbie looked up to our hero and wanted to be just like him, yet his parents were such mean people. They caused chaos to Lazytown. Mind you, Lazytown was just as active as it is now. Children were always playing in the playground or at the park. Those were fun times until things started to turn for the worse," Lina said with a frown.

"Then what happened?" Trixie asked, rather into the story. Everybody nodded as well.

"Maybe another time. Got to give you all some suspense, you know," she answered while they looked disappointed.

"So, did Robbie Rotten really looked up to Number Nine?" Pixel asked.

"Don't tell him this, but yes. He had the whole uniform with the cape and mask. He even tried to be active as Number Nine too.," she told them until Robbie Rotten started stomping towards them.

"Stop right there!" He yelled, cutting in between the teenagers and Lina.

"I thought you were napping, Robbie," Lina told him as he glared right at her.

"I couldn't because of you. You were talking about me," he whispered as Lina shrugged.

"I guess I can't hold my tongue. It's not that bad that they knew you were good once," she told him. He put his hands around her shoulders and started to drag her away from the teens to speak to her privately.

"That's the problem. I don't want them to know. You're making all my hard work go away. Can't you at least keep your mouth shut," he angrily demanded.

"Robbie Rotten. Don't you use that tone on me. If you don't want me to talk about you then fine. Now get your hands off of me," she told him, pushing his hands away.

He flinched but stood up straight and smiled.

"Good," he said while straightening his vest. "Now about spending time with me..."

Lina's hand covered Robbie's mouth while she looked unhappily at him.

"No need. I'll spend it with someone special. If you please excuse me, I've got my time to spend. Now, goodbye," she told him, turning her head away from him before walking away. She bid the teens farewell before she left them as well.

"Someone special?" He questioned to himself with a nervous and disappointed look. "Who would it be?"

"Did you see that? Robbie must've said something mean to her. I can't imagine him being good at all," Pixel said as the teens nodded in agreement.

While he was thinking, Robbie felt someone was watching him. He turned around to see those blasted teenagers and growled.

"What are all of you staring at?" He yelled before stomping off to his home to think quietly once more.

Robbie started to pace as soon as he stood inside his lair. He tapped his right temple with his index finger, hoping to help his brain start working for an answer. It was only a few seconds later that he stood up and gasped horribly.

"No! It can't be. It shouldn't be. It better not be." He crossed his arms with a frown while his shoulders tensed up. "In no way will I let her go near _him_."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

It was obvious Lina had no one special to spend her time with for she had just arrived town. The only person she knows personally here is Robbie. Sadly to say, she knew she needed to learn how to not say things she doesn't mean. And of course, she admitted that it is one of her bad habits.

All she did for an hour or so was walking around and finding herself to be nostalgic of back when she was in Lazytown as a kid. She remembered how she would usually bully the weak but now regretting the things she had done as a bully. She even remembered the times she spent with Robbie. But with such happy memories, she remembered that tragic event that happened in Lazytown.

She was one of the victims of the said tragedy. It was the biggest fight that had hurt many people, and some even died from it. Families were broken, children were crying, and many homes were destroyed. She remembered it clearly. The explosions that occurred and she was one of the lucky surviving victims. Even though she survived, she had a large scar on her back that would never fade away. She even remembered the deep pain it emitted, causing her family to move and never coming back to Lazytown. The day of the explosion was the day she never saw Robbie again. She didn't even had the chance to say goodbye to him. And now, she has come back to her birthplace once again to see Robbie.

Since she was lost in thought, she never paid attention to the flying football heading her way. It was until a kid yelled about the ball coming at her that she turned to see a speedy ball heading towards her. Luckily, Sportacus caught the ball in time which Lina sighed in relief. And with a smile, Sportacus threw it back lightly and warned the kids to be careful. The kids responded with an apology and returned back to having fun again. Sportacus then turned towards her.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

Lina shrugged with a smile and said, "Never better. Thanks for saving me."

Sportacus chuckled and then an awkward silence came between them.

"So, have you made any friends?" Sportacus asked, trying to strike a friendly conversation.

"Not too sure. I guess acquaintances would be a better term," Lina told them as she then thought about Robbie and frowned.

"What's wrong?" Sportacus was rather concerned at her suddenly frowning like that.

"If you had a friend that has changed over the years into someone completely different, what would you do?" She asked before looking up at Sportacus. Her facial expression looked rather intense as if he had her full attention. Sportacus didn't know what to say, yet he had to answer her with careful words.

"I guess… it depends on the circumstances of whether I feel what is the right thing to do and just do what my heart tells me," Sportacus answered. She sighed and nodded.

"Thank you, Sportacus," she said with a smile. "But there is one more question I want to ask." She looked hesitant, but she was quite curious all the more. Her brown eyes stared at his baby blue eyes as if it mesmerized her.

"Yes? I'm all ears," he said with a smile.

"Are you Number Nine's son," she asked, even though she knew full well of the answer. There wasn't that much to be solved as he looked quite similar to the hero from once before and the number was a dead giveaway.

"H- how do you know?" Sportacus asked with surprise written on his face.

"Well, for one, you are wearing a number ten, which goes to show you are the successor of the hero Number Nine. Secondly, you look quite like your father. And lastly, he told me once that he had a son around my age, which you don't seem any older than I am. It doesn't take much to figure out that you are Sportacules' son."

Lina looked up at the clear blue sky as if feeling the comfort at its tranquility.

"How do you know my father's name? He rarely tells it to anyone," he told her, even more surprised at the information she knows. She looked back at him and smiled sadly as though she knew something terrible. Sportacus didn't understand, but he did not try to pry.

"So I guess, nobody knows you are the son of the late Number Nine hero, then?" She asked, avoiding the question he had asked.

"Before he died and before I succeeded him, he told me to pretend that I didn't know who he is if anyone asked me. It was his final wish that his name would never be uttered in anyone's mouth and for people to forget who he was," Sportacus explained before he sighed. "I couldn't say "no" to his final request."

She chuckled lightly and patted his shoulder. Sportacus looked over at her and stared at her for a bit before he laughed as well. Both laughed without a reason yet it felt right to laugh. Lina sighed with a peaceful look before she suddenly took Sportacus' hand and putting it on his chest. Sportacus gave her an odd look, not knowing what she was doing.

"Your father is a great man, and he will always be a great hero just like you being a great hero to these kids of Lazytown. Sportacus, I want you to know that you mean much more to these people than you think."

Lina then smiled and was about to let go of her hand on his until a sudden yell made both of them surprised.

"I knew it! You were spending your time with _him_," yelled Robbie Rotten as he saw her hand on his and on Sportakook's chest. He was in a rage-like state. He immediately walked towards them and had cut in between them. "How dare you touch her!"

He stared at Sportacus, his face almost close to his and he clenched his fist as if he was about to do something to Sportacus.

"What?" Sportacus asked, confused as to why he is angry.

"What? What do you mean what? Your hand. Her hand. On the chest. Touching. That's a big no no! You went over the line Sportajoke!" Robbie yelled once more. If he went any higher, his voice would have been lost.

"Calm down, Robbie. It was me who put my hand on his hand to his chest. If I didn't know any better, you sound jealous," Lina joked.

Robbie responded to her joke with a gasp, yelling "what", and leaned back. All were done very dramatically and Robbie-like. Lina just chuckled, soon Sportacus laughed with her. Robbie looked back and forth from Sportacus to Lina. He was confused and utterly shocked.

"What is going on," Robbie yelled, stomping his foot like a child. Lina stopped laughing and shook her head at Robbie's immaturity even though she was smiling warmly at him. She then laid her hand on his shoulder.

"It's just a joke about calling you jealous, Robbie. We were laughing because your reactions were always funny; I've always liked that side of you even now. But even more so, you have always mean much more to me than you know, Robbie. No one will ever replace you in my heart," she told him. Robbie's eyes widened as if they were about to pop out of his head. He became speechless, not knowing what to say.

"Oh, um... what can I say? I am quite good-looking," he said proudly while smoothing his hair.

Lina and Sportacus, both shook their heads while smiling at his immediate change in behavior. Before Lina even realized it, Robbie took her hand while standing in front of her as if being protective of her from Sportacus. Sportacus, on the other hand, became confused at his actions.

"Now, if you please excuse us, we have some time to spend," Robbie told Sportacus before dragging Lina behind him.

Lina looked over at him before she waved with a smile. Sportacus smiled back and nodded. When they were almost out of sight, Sportacus chuckled and shook his head once more.

"They make a great couple," he said to no one in particular before he called out for the ladder from his airship.

Meanwhile, Lina let Robbie drag her to wherever he wanted to take her. It was by then that they stopped at Lazy Park and sat down at the lone bench that was there. He looked over to Lina for a bit before turning away.

"I'm not going to do anything if we're going to spend time together," Robbie told her as Lina just shrugged.

"I'm fine with talking," she replied. Robbie turned to look at her again before he noticed his hand was still holding hers. And of course, his eyes widened as if they were about to come out of their sockets, yet he did nothing to remove his hand from hers.

Lina noticed that Robbie looked rather pale and started to get worried. She used her unoccupied hand and touched his forehead. Robbie snapped out of his shock and looked at her in the eyes. He didn't understand but his heart was racing quite quickly.

"Wh-wh- what are you doing," he yelled. Lina looked at him confused before she put her forehead on his. Robbie's heart raced even quicker. He was a bit glad when her forehead was no longer on his.

"Hm... you're forehead isn't hot. Are you feeling well, Robbie? If not, I'll take you to your home," Lina told him.

Robbie was shocked before he began to notice his face getting rather hot. On the other hand, she saw Robbie's face getting red and became more concerned.

"I-I... uh... I'm fine. Just fine. Peachy. Good. Nothing wrong with me. Yes. Nothing. Do I look like there's anything wrong with me? Because you know, there isn't. Not at all," he told her nervously. Lina concluded with a look that told him there is something wrong with him.

"I'll take you to Lazy Hospital, Robbie. You don't look too well and your face turned from pale white to a red tomato. I don't want you turning blue, so let's get you checked up. And I will not have a "no" for an answer," Lina told him before she stood up with her hand still holding his.

Robbie felt sick to the stomach like something is bubbling inside him. But then, he continued his concentration on her hand on his. He hadn't had this much contact from the opposite sex in a long while.

Robbie remembered the time they spent together when they were little. A small memory replayed in his mind while being dragged by her. This memory was a little after Lina stopped her bullying days. He remembered one winter when the first day of snow came upon Lazytown. Lina would come over and sneak into his bedroom window, took his hand, and dragged his half-asleep form with her. They ran all the way to where Lazytown's lake was, and she would play with him in the snow. He enjoyed that time very much.

Little did Robbie know, he smiled throughout the memory. Unfortunately, Lina was not able to see it as she was more concentrative in taking Robbie to the hospital. And after Robbie snapped out of his memory, he found himself already at the hospital and his smile immediately disappeared only to be replaced by fear written on his face.

Truthfully, he had a fear of doctors. Much so, he never goes anywhere near the place. It may be the second to his list of fears. Lina looked over at him and sighed.

"Don't tell me you are still scared of doctors?" Lina asked. Robbie moved his head slowly to look at her. He looked horrified enough for Lina to conclude that he is without him saying anything.

"I-I-I-I am n-not a-a-a-afraid," he stuttered, making it more obvious that he is.

Lina sighed before she dragged him. But before they were able to enter the hospital, Robbie let go of her hand and jumped on one of the columns, holding onto it as if his life depended on it. Lina sighed once again and shaking her head in discontent.

"Robbie, it's just a check-up. You won't be getting any shots, okay?" Lina tried to persuade him, but Robbie (being the kid he is) shook his head vigorously.

"I'm not going inside! I'm very much fine," he yelled.

Lina took him by the back of his collar and tried to pull him off the column but choking him while she did so. Lina noticed the choking sounds he made and let go. She frowned while watching Robbie shiver, not from being choked but his fear of doctors.

"Sorry, Robbie. I didn't mean to hurt you," Lina told him. Robbie shook his head.

"I'm fine."

"Then why don't you get checked by a doctor?" Lina asked him.

"I don't need to get checked! Just- Just leave me alone already! I can take care of myself. I'm not the same weak child like nineteen years ago that needs your protecting. I don't need your worry or help," he told her, not thinking of what he said. Lina was shocked and hurt. If anybody noticed, it looked like her eyes started to become glassy.

Lina looked away with her head lowered, but it wasn't long before she clenched her hand to a fist and looked up at him with determination. She couldn't give up on him, not just yet anyways. There was a possibility that she could help him get a check-up from the doctor.

"Robbie Rotten, you will see the doctor, and I will have a "no" for an answer," she ordered, her hand on her hip.

"No," he yelled back like a child.

"The doctor is going to do a check-up on you. You won't get a shot. Now, come on, Robbie. You are an adult," she tried to persuade.

Robbie didn't let go of the column. He remembered the painful sting that came from such shots and shivered. He looked like he wasn't going to give up any time soon. Lina sighed and thought for a bit before a light bulb clicked in her head.

"If you aren't going to see the doctor, I will find a doctor to see you," Lina told him. "Don't even think about running away." She then ran inside the hospital as quickly as she could.

Robbie looked over at her and let go of the column. He wiped away the invisible sweat on his brow and sighed in relief. He was about to sneak off. But instead, he slipped and fell off the steps. He immediately jumped up and patted off the dirt on him.

"I meant to do that," he said to no one else in particular. He started to go on his way again before Sportacus jumped off the ladder on his airship and stood in front of him.

"Are you okay, Robbie? I saw you fall down the steps," Sportacus told him. Robbie groaned as he didn't want to meet the man in front of him.

"Leave me alone, Sportafool. I'm trying to sneak off before Lina sees me," Robbie said as Sportacus shook his head.

"You've injured yourself. You need to get checked up to see if you are okay." Sportacus crossed his arms as if determined to not let Robbie escape. Robbie tried to escape but Sportacus blocked his every move. Robbie, being himself, started to get angry.

"Get out of my way, Sportakook!" He yelled angrily, flailing his arms while doing so.

Sportacus looked behind Robbie and smiled. Robbie saw him smiling before he became confused and looked behind him. His eyes widened when he saw Lina with Dr. Rottenstein behind her. Lina wore a very angry expression while she walked towards him. He shivered at the sight. Lina's anger may even be tied with his fear of shots. He remembered a time when she got angry; it was not a pretty sight to hold.

"L-Lina, you were quick," Robbie stuttered, avoiding her gaze as much as possible.

"Did. I. Not. Say. Not. To. Run. Away," she said with such a venomous tone that even Sportacus and Dr. Rottenstein was afraid of her.

"I-I-" Robbie squeaked, not being able to finish.

Lina sighed and shook her head. She then told the doctor to do a check-up on him before she bid Dr. Rottenstein and Sportacus goodbye but did not say it to Robbie. Robbie looked over at her and stopped shivering from his fears.

"Where are you going, Lina?" Robbie asked, trying not to sound desperate around the doctor.

"Didn't you tell me to leave you alone?" She said while turning her head but not turning around to look at Robbie. "You've got your wish. Goodbye, Robbie."

She walked away, leaving a confused Dr. Rottenstein and Sportacus. Robbie, on the other hand, seemed quite sad. His shoulders slumped and no longer felt the fear of the doctor near him. He even did the check-up as he was told. He didn't complain or shiver in fear of the doctor. When the check-up was done, Robbie went on his way to his house since nothing was wrong with him. He sat down on his comfy, orange chair and felt his stomach being pierced by a thousand sharp needles. This was the same feeling he felt when he found out Lina left Lazytown nineteen years ago, except this one felt much more agonizing to him. What should he do now?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

One week. It became one week since Robbie last saw her. And in those seven days, he had searched for her. She wasn't at the park, sports field, or anywhere anybody could be active. He even asked around for her, but no one knew where she was. In the end, he went back to his home to pace back and forth, wondering what he may have missed. Suddenly, a light bulb hit him, figuratively and literally. He immediately looked into his periscope while holding his aching head while doing so. He searched and searched until he saw the blue-uniformed man. Soon after, he started, to his dismay, run to him. It didn't take him long before he fell short of breath.

Meanwhile, Sportacus' crystal started to beep. He looked around Lazytown to see Robbie leaning over and breathing heavily. He went over to him and looked worried.

"Are you okay, Robbie?" Sportacus asked while he watched Robbie almost fainting from exhaustion. Sportacus looked up at his airship and then yelled ladder.

"I'll be right back," he told Robbie before he climbed the ladder.

Robbie, being too exhausted, didn't pay attention. He started to become dizzy and felt nauseous. Luckily, Sportacus didn't take long as he climbed down and then jumped off the ladder with a water bottle in one hand. He kneeled down and held him while feeding him some water. Sportacus then carried him and laid him on the bench. He was about to get a doctor but Robbie pulled on his hand. He looked over as he watched Robbie continued to wheeze.

"Did you just feed me water?" Robbie asked while looking angry. Sportacus nodded.

"It looked like you needed it," he answered. Robbie growled as he used his other arm to cover his eyes.

"Disgusting," he muttered. Truthfully, though, it tasted rather good in a way but he wouldn't admit that in front of Sportacus.

"If you are okay, Robbie, then I will be leaving now," he told him before he did his usual moves. He was about to do a flip but Robbie continued to still hold onto him.

"Don't leave. I've got a question to ask you," Robbie told him. Sportacus became shocked at what he heard. He couldn't believe Robbie Rotten wanted to ask _him_ a question.

"Are you sure, Robbie? Are you mistaking me for someone else? Maybe you are too tired. I'll find a doctor for you," Sportacus said but Robbie started to get impatient.

"I'm still sane, Sportakook, and I don't need a doctor," he told him before he shivered at the thought of needing to see a doctor.

Realizing that he did want to ask him a question, Sportacus smiled and thought this change in mood must be coming from Lina. This was quite a miracle to him.

"What do you need to know?" Sportacus asked.

Robbie glared in distaste at this. If it weren't for worrying about her, he wouldn't have to be in an embarrassing situation like this. Was it worth it? He didn't need to think to answer that question.

"Do you know where Lina is? I haven't seen her for a week," he asked him. Sportacus looked rather surprised and shook his head.

"Now that you have mentioned it, I haven't seen her for a week as well. Are you worried, Robbie?" Sportacus asked him as Robbie crossed his arms.

"I'm not worried," he answered but his face said otherwise.

"I'll help you find her," Sportacus suddenly told him. Robbie became shocked but didn't object to it.

"Help find who?" Someone asked.

Sportacus and Robbie were surprised at the sudden voice. They turned to look at a curious-looking Lina. Robbie, shocked to see her, jumped out of the bench and stood in front of her. He didn't say anything but just stared at her.

"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that, Robbie," Lina asked with a concerned voice.

"Robbie's concerned about you," Sportacus answered when Robbie didn't say anything. Robbie snapped out of his shock and glared at Sportacus.

"I am not. Stop spouting nonsense, Sportafool," he told him. Lina looked more confused now.

"Where were you anyways?" Sportacus asked, ignoring Robbie's in denial comment. "You didn't mention to anyone that you were going to disappear for a week."

"Oh, well, I didn't think I need to. I had to go back to Busycity because of business matters. After I've finished, I can continue my vacation in Lazytown. I'll be staying here for about six months and maybe live here. That's why I rented an apartment instead of going into a hotel," Lina answered innocently, not knowing anyone would be concerned because she was gone.

"You should have told me," Robbie muttered.

"What did you say, Robbie," Lina asked after she looked over at him.

"Nothing," Robbie answered rather angrily but looked rather awkward. "And… and I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what? I'm the one that disappeared suddenly," she told him and then placed a hand on his shoulder. "I should be the one apologizing to you for disappearing suddenly. I'm sorry for not telling you."

"So you aren't angry about what happened a week ago with the doctor thing," Robbie asked, his eyes widened with hope.

"Uh... I was angry at the time," she started while Robbie reacted with his shoulders slumping, "but it was only on that day. The day after I just forgot about all my anger. I left not telling you because I had to leave immediately after I got the sudden message from work. And anyways, I didn't want to wake you up in your slumber. You looked very... cute." Lina smiled which made Robbie feel very lightheaded for some odd reason.

"C- cute?" Robbie asked. Lina nodded.

"A very cute big-eyed kitten," Lina added.

"_She never called me cute before. Does she like me? I know I am pretty handsome and all, but I guess cute means handsome to her. Hm... or maybe not. She's so complicated to figure out!" _Robbie thought while making facial expressions and gestures with his head.

Lina and Sportacus noticed his facial expressions and gestures that they looked rather concerned for him. If anything, he looked rather foolish in the public eye. Lina tapped his shoulder after he was so quiet. Robbie, of course, snapped out of his thoughts to see Lina and Sportacus staring at him.

"What are you looking at?" He scowled at Sportacus but not at his childhood friend.

"Well, I have to get going. I've got to unpack again," Lina interfered before she hugged Robbie and bid the two farewell.

Robbie froze when he watched Lina leave. Sportacus shook his head while smiling at the interaction between the two. After Lina was out of eyesight, Robbie looked over at Sportacus and crossed his arms.

"You tell this to no one," Robbie warned him before he left rudely. Sportacus sighed but shrugged it off.

When Sportacus was about to leave, Stephanie saw him a few meters away

"Hey, Sportacus!" She yelled.

Sportacus turned around and smiled while waving at her. He ran to her as she waited for him and smiled when he was in front of her.

"Hey, Stephanie. What were you doing?" Sportacus asked her. Stephanie blushed when he was looking down at her with his one-hundred-watt smile.

"Just practicing my dance moves. And you?" She smiled back.

"Oh, just saw a couple in denial," he told her, which Stephanie responded with a confused look. Sportacus just laughed and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's nothing to think about. I hear you are thinking about going to college in Lazytown. Is that true?"

"Not too sure. I might look into other options. Lazytown doesn't have a dance school here, so I'm rather worried if it's better to go to a dance school in another town or city instead," Stephanie said sadly. "But... I don't want to leave Lazytown."

"I see. Even if you do leave Lazytown, there are many ways to communicate with everyone if you miss us. Pixel has your back with technology," Sportacus told her with a smile. Stephanie shook her head and looked up at Sportacus.

"It's not the same Sportacus. I can't do the things we usually do in Lazytown. I won't be able to play sports with you or teach you how to dance and stuff," Stephanie said. Sportacus chuckled and patted her head.

"Stephanie, you will be able to make new friends and play sports with them. You'll be able to do many things that you may not be able to do in Lazytown. There's always a greener side to everything if you look hard enough," Sportacus tried to cheer her up.

"Sportacus, you don't understand," she started.

"What do I not understand?" Sportacus looked worried over at her.

"_I want to be by your side_," Stephanie answered in her thoughts, knowing full well she could never tell him that.

"It's just… things will change," she told him. Sportacus then placed his hands on her shoulders. She looked up into his hypnotizing blue eyes. She felt her heart racing and felt butterflies in stomach. If she stared any longer, her face would start to be red as tomato.

"Stephanie, change is inevitable, but things sometimes change for the better. Everything will work out in the end," Sportacus told her. When he said it in such a way, Stephanie felt the butterflies turn into needles.

"Do you want me to leave Lazytown?" She asked, her eyes full of hope that he would want her to stay. Sportacus was rather surprised at her bold question but smiled.

"I want you to listen to your heart, Stephanie. That is all I want," he told her. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she looked up at him. Sportacus became speechless when tears started to form in her eyes.

"Will you miss me?" Her hands were clenching her shirt as if using it for support for his answer, may it be good or bad. Sportacus smiled softly at her.

"Of course, I will miss you, Stephanie," he started. Stephanie started to feel joyous until he continued with, "because you are my friend." All joy disappeared immediately with only a feeling of disappointment left once again. Her head was now lowered and her hands no longer clenched to her shirt but was now at her sides with her shoulders slumped down.

"What's wrong, Stephanie?" Sportacus asked, seeing her more unhappy than before. Stephanie held in her tears. She breathed in and out before she looked up at him with a sad smile.

"It's nothing, Sportacus. Well, I'd better get going. Bye," she told him before leaving him hurriedly. Sportacus looked confused but he shrugged it off.

"_She'll tell me when she's ready_," Sportacus thought. But for some reason though, he felt something was wrong. He just didn't know what it may be.

Meanwhile, Lina heard footsteps behind her and so she turned around to see Robbie following her. He gasped when she noticed him, so he immediately turned to the side while whistling. His hands are behind his back while he moved to and fro with his feet. He stole a few glances towards her if she is staring at him. Unfortunately for him, she knew. Lina just smiled and shook her head at him trying his best not to be noticed.

Lina soon walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. Robbie turned around and smiled at her, pretending that he wasn't stalking at her at all. His toothy smile didn't help his innocence.

"Hey, Lina. What are you doing here?" Robbie asked while waving at her. Lina suddenly took her hand off his shoulder and held his hand instead.

"I would like to ask the same thing, Mr. Stalker," she told him. Robbie flinched at his new nickname.

"I wasn't stalking you. I was just... walking the same direction as you. Yeah, walking the same direction," Robbie told her, making it more of an unbelievable story as it is. His awkward expression didn't help much either.

"Come on, Mr. Stalker. You do want to see my apartment, yes?" She asked. Robbie gave her an unhappy look at calling him a stalker again.

"I am not a stalker! And I do not want to see your apartment!" He yelled, aggravated at how she can get to him. She chuckled while tugging at his hand to follow her, but Robbie stood his ground.

"Oh, pretty please, Robbie, will you come with me?" She asked while blinking innocently. Robbie felt his ground shaking and he couldn't take her cute look. His shoulders slumped and then he sighed, giving up.

"Show the way," he said while Lina smiled and dragged him to her apartment.

Robbie looked around to see that the apartment didn't look too shabby. It was decent enough. The walls were cream-colored and the floor had a blue carpet. The living room had a small t.v., a small table, one couch, and one comfy chair. The kitchen was beside the living room with its flooring made of white tiles. There was no wall between them so the kitchen was immediately accessible.

"The two other rooms are my bedroom and the bathroom," she told him.

Robbie nodded before he sat down on the chair. It didn't feel as comfortable as his orange chair, but it felt decent enough. Lina smiled at him trying to be comfortable before she went into the kitchen.

"Do you want something to drink?" She asked.

Robbie thought for a bit before he yelled, "Soda!"

Lina frowned and knew immediately that she didn't have that sort of beverage.

"Sorry, Robbie, I don't have any soda. I do have unsweetened tea, milk, and water though," she told him. Robbie sticked out his tongue in disgust.

"Then no thanks," he said. Lina shrugged before she took out a water bottle before starting off to the couch and sitting on it. Lina smiled at Robbie while Robbie felt awkward at Lina looking at him.

"Are you happy that I'm back, Robbie?" She suddenly asked. Robbie felt attacked with such a sudden question.

"It's been nineteen years. Nineteen years, Lina. Why did you come back now when you could've come back in those nineteen years," he asked. He didn't want to say that, but his mouth just moved on his own. Lina frowned and sighed.

"I wanted to come back, Robbie. I really did. It's just that," she started before she clenched her hand into a fist, "I had some troubles that I had to go through."

"Like what! You were the one that didn't say goodbye to me, Lina. You just disappeared without a word to me. You could've wrote to me. Anything to help me know you are okay!" He suddenly flared out. All of his inner feelings of that time coming out suddenly like a sudden earthquake. "All of a sudden, you did the same disappearing act as before. I thought you would be gone like you did nineteen years ago!"

Lina could see the hurt in Robbie. This is what Lina wanted to see, not the hurt but the truth he so hides within himself. The Robbie she knew always told her how he felt. That part of him made her change from being a bully to an ex-bully.

"I... I couldn't come visit or write to you, Robbie. In those nineteen years, I was trying to recover from the incident. I was mentally and physically scarred then, Robbie," she started before she looked quite solemn. Robbie just listened quietly while staring at his friend.

"I didn't want you to see what my parents had to cope with. I was a mess, and I wasn't stable. It took me years to recover." She shook her head at the memory. Robbie continued to listen without saying a word.

"School and college was hard for me, but I found stability through photography. After I finished college, I started traveling, which helped me to ease the pain, but I wasn't mentally prepared to visit Lazytown just yet. I entered a photography contest here and there and found myself landing into many jobs for magazines because of it. It was by then I finally concluded into becoming a freelance photographer while working for many magazines. When I felt stability in my income, I heard you were saved by Sportacus while you wore a gorilla suit. I became unstable again when the word Lazytown came up again. I just..." Lina suddenly broke down crying while Robbie tried to register her story.

By that time, Robbie knew he wasn't the only one who suffered after the incident. He never saw her like this before in those years he knew her. He had never knew she could cry like this either. He used to cry like that, many times. When he found out she left Lazytown, it was the last time he cried like this. It was the most heartwrenching moment he had ever felt compared to the other moments he had.

He came towards her and held her. Robbie felt her shivering in his arms. In the past, Lina would be the one holding him in her arms when he needed her. It became his turn to hold her in his arms. It was quite ironic enough to be laughable. Quite ironic indeed.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The next morning, Robbie is inside his home while staring at the ceiling. He couldn't believe that he comforted someone and did a good job with it. He remembered what happened after he held Lina in his arms.

_Lina looks up at him after she had finished crying. She smiled faintly, thanked him for comforting her, and then kissed him on the cheek. Robbie froze immediately at the sudden touch. His head slowly looked down at her. Lina chuckled lightly and held him in a hug before she pushed him out the door and told him to get some sleep._

He couldn't sleep that day. He tossed and turned on his couch and sighed. His hand placed on the cheek she kissed. Sadly to say, he would've washed his face if he had known she would've done such an action. If she knew she kissed his unwashed face, he was afraid of the consequences that comes with it.

Robbie knew very well that she would be the one to make his life more complex but not to this extent. His usual greasy, combed back hair had turned into a mess from him tousling with his hair. He wondered if Lina liked him and wondered if he felt the same for her. Because of thinking too much, he continued to try to sleep once more but his attempts made it worse.

Meanwhile, Lina became more calm and collected than Robbie. She looked like she never cried the day before. But in the inside, she felt confused. She wondered why she kissed him. And for some reason, she thought of him as handsome when he comforted her. She shook her head mentally, trying to shrug off all thoughts of the day before. To help her, she held her professional camera and decided that she might as well take pictures to take off the thoughts of her and Robbie for a bit.

It wasn't long before she bumped into the teenagers of Lazytown. They were excited to see her and Pixel's eyes lighted up to see her camera. Lina smiled and greeted them while they greeted back.

"Sorry about not keeping my promise, but I did bring it today," Lina told them. They told her not to worry about it.

"Hey, can I see your camera?" Pixel asked, his eyes sparkled in interest. Lina chuckled and nodded while she held out her camera for him to check out.

"Take your time but be careful though. It's custom made for my use," she told him. Pixel nodded as he inspected the camera with excitement like a child would inspect a toy that he wanted for years.

"This is cool! So clear and it has many magnifications. Does it take pictures quickly?" Pixel asked as Lina chuckled and nodded.

"Every picture I take is immediate enough for a good outcome," she answered.

"Wow, I want to try it out," Pixel said but handed back her camera. Lina smiled.

"Why don't you?" She asked as Pixel's eyes sparkled even further.

"Really?" Lina nodded.

"Cool! Thanks, Lina," Pixel said before he started to take pictures of his friends. They were rather clear and found it did take good pictures. It didn't make any snapshot sounds, rather it was quiet and quick. After he felt satisfied, Pixel gave it back to her and smiled. She took it and nodded.

"I wish I had one of those," Stingy commented; his eyes sparkled when he stared at her camera.

"If I visit Busycity again, I'll ask for a custom made camera for you," Lina told him. Stingy's eyes widened even further with his mouth opened wider.

"Really?" Stingy asked as Lina nodded. He then jumped up and down excitedly while yelling 'yay'.

"Now, it's my turn to take pictures of you all. And of course, show you how it looks professionally," Lina told them.

The teenagers were rather surprised but excited all the while. They gathered together and looked rather nervous. Lina shook her head with a smile and told them to act natural. They couldn't, so she had to use a trick that helped out. She faked taking the picture and told them she had finished taking the picture, but she would only show them when she had finished processing the picture. Not long before, the teenagers started playing around and that was the real picture she took. She looked at the taken picture and smiled. Trixie took Stingy into a chokehold. Stephanie laughed while chatting with Ziggy, who had a lollipop in his mouth. Pixel took out some sort of gadget and started playing on it.

"And that's how a professional, does it. The most natural and easy-going," Lina whispered to only herself before she looked up to see Sportacus nearby.

He came over to the teenagers and Lina. Most of the teenagers except Stephanie are excited by his presence. Lina noticed Stephanie's frown and became confused. Lina stayed quiet and greeted Sportacus instead.

"Hello, everyone. What were you all doing?" Sportacus asked.

"We had just taken a professional picture," Trixie told him.

"I want to see how it looks," Stingy said with disappointment.

"It's too bad you didn't come here earlier, Sportacus, then you would be in the picture as well," Ziggy said before Stephanie froze.

Lina saw her reaction and observed her. Whenever Sportacus' back was to Stephanie, she would stare at him. When he turned to face her, Stephanie immediately turned her head away as if looking at something else. Lina finally understood the reason and looked over at Sportacus. She saw him staring at Stephanie. And when he was chatting with the other teenagers, he gave quick glances at Stephanie. Lina sighed and shook her head, knowing it was better off that she pretended she didn't see anything.

Soon after, Lina saw a yellow suited man walking by and stopped to see the teenagers, Sportacus, and Lina. Lina's eyes widened before she smiled happily. She examined the man while the man looked at her with a confused look.

"Uh... what are you doing," the man asked as Lina smiled brightly.

"Are you Milford Meanswell?" She asked. Milford nodded slowly.

"Yes, and you are?" He asked.

"You look the same, even back then. It's me, Lina. Lina Leisurely to be exact." The Mayor's eyes widened and his mouth opened agape before a smile placed on his lips.

"It's been so long, Lina. How have you been doing?" He asked.

"Quite well, actually," she started and then she saw a ring on his finger and smirked mischievously. "Did you finally pop up the question to Miss Busybody? You two always seemed to have a liking for each other."

The mayor started to blush, which Lina smiled.

"Well, yes. I asked for her hand in marriage five years ago. We married a year after, and we are quite happy now," he told her as Lina nodded.

"I'm glad to hear that, but I didn't think it would take you that long. But I guess, it was better late than never," Lina commented as Mayor Meanswell laughed nervously.

"Milford! Milford!" Bessie Busybody, now known as Bessie Meanswell, called.

Lina looked over to see Bessie wearing some sort of goo on her face with lots of sliced cucumbers all over her face and covering both her eyes. And of course, Lina couldn't help but hold her laugh. She knew that must've been Bessie since she knew that blue hair anywhere and her calling out for Milford Meanswell name became nostalgic to her.

"Well, duty calls. I will speak to you all later," Meanswell told them before everyone bid him farewell.

"You know my uncle, Lina?" Stephanie asked as Lina nodded.

"Yes, of course. He used to work for the ex-mayor of this town back when I was a kid. I'm glad to know he's the mayor now. He was always so caring and kind, but he sometimes is easily swayed by other people's opinions and is somewhat clumsy," Lina answered them as everyone seemed to agree to a level.

"My uncle does a great job as the mayor. Lazytown used to be so messy, but he cleaned the town nicely," Stephanie told her as Lina chuckled.

"Knowing him, he must've hurt himself quite a bit while doing so," Lina said. Stephanie chuckled and nodded.

"That's my uncle," Stephanie said. Soon after, everyone chatted together. Stephanie no longer felt awkward with Sportacus' presence even though there was a quite a distance between them. Sportacus, on the other hand, noticed the distance and felt something was wrong. He didn't want to spoil her mood, so he decided to talk to her afterwards.

Not too long after, Lina had to leave to process the pictures. She had to figure out a place to do it. She couldn't do the process at her apartment since it didn't have enough space for her to work, and she definitely didn't want to use the kitchen counter since she would be handling chemicals as well. She sighed as the only way to find a good place is to look around for a photograph studio.

Meanwhile, after the teenagers dispersed to do their own things, only Stephanie and Sportacus was left of the group. Immediately, Stephanie felt uncomfortable and worried around him. He noticed this as his hands were placed on her shoulders. Stephanie flinched a bit at his touch and only looked down at the ground instead of looking at his lovely blue eyes.

"Stephanie, what's wrong?" Sportacus asked. Stephanie only shook her head, still facing the ground. Sportacus felt hurt at this sort of response but didn't give up.

"Look at me, Stephanie. What's wrong? Please tell me," Sportacus said with a more noticable worried tone.

Stephanie wished and hoped that he would leave her alone. If he continued on worrying, the more she wouldn't be able to hold back her feelings towards him. She sometimes wonder if it's a good thing to confess her feelings towards him, but she didn't know if she can handle it if he rejected her. Those thoughts always gave her the most pain.

When Stephanie didn't answer for a while, Sportacus sighed and lifted her chin with his finger. Stephanie looked up at him. His blue eyes bored into her chocolate ones. She loved those eyes so much, such a peaceful and serene color.

"Stephanie, why are you avoiding me?" He asked.

"It's... nothing, Sportacus," she lied. And of course, Sportacus saw through it. She was such a terrible liar.

"Are you sure?" He questioned once more. She nodded slowly.

"I see. Well, if there is something you can't handle or you need someone to talk to, I'm always there to listen. And if I am able to help you, I will," Sportacus told her.

His hand no longer lingering on her shoulder and chin. Stephanie felt relieved. And once more, he noticed her shoulders no longer became tense. For some reason, Sportacus felt hurt. He wondered if he did something wrong. And if he did, he was quite oblivious to it.

Not long after, Sportacus went up into his airship and started exercising while his thoughts were on Stephanie. It was the first time Stephanie woud avoid him like that. He wondered what made her act that way towards him.

After he exercised enough, he started to eat his fruit sandwich and drank a bottle of his water. He was still unsatisfied since he wasn't able to find an answer to his predicament. Suddenly, his crystal started reacting. He looked around over Lazytown and saw Ziggy concentrated on his lollipop that he didn't notice the hole that he was about to fall in.

And of course, Sportacus yelled ladder and he immediately climbed down and speedily went to Ziggy's rescue. Before Ziggy stepped into the hole, Sportacus pulled him back. Ziggy gave a yelp and then noticed his surroundings and that Sportacus saved him. Ziggy gave a nervous chuckle.

"Thanks, Sportacus. I guess I should pay attention to where I am going," Ziggy told him nervously. Sportacus nodded.

"I'm glad that you are safe, Ziggy. And yes, it's better to pay attention and be safe," Sportacus told him and then showed him his famous smile.

"Yeah. It's just that... I'm trying to figure out the flavors of this lollipop. I found two of the flavors being cherry and lemon. I just can't figure out the last one," Ziggy told him and then gave a frustrated sigh. Sportacus just chuckled and shook his head.

"Good luck with that, but I know you will figure it out, Ziggy," Sportacus told him and patted his shoulder. Ziggy nodded determinedly. Suddenly, Sportacus eyes glowed as if he had an idea. "Ziggy, I've got a question to ask you."

"Sure, Sportacus." Ziggy looked over at him but his thoughts were still on his lollipop.

"Have you noticed Stephanie acting... differently?" Sportacus asked.

"Hm..." Ziggy started to think but shook his head, "No. Not at all. She's been acting normal like always. Why?"

"Oh, it's just that she just seems to act different around me. That's all," Sportacus said sadly.

"Hm..." Ziggy looked concentrated enough as if thinking until his eyes brightened as if a light bulb switched on. "Oh, I've figured it out!"

"Yes?" Sportacus eyes lit up, waiting for an answer. A smile was placed on his lips.

"It's blueberry! I knew that familiar taste. I wonder why I didn't think of it sooner. Can't believe it took me that long to figure it out," Ziggy said happily with a chuckle. Sportacus shoulders slumped with a dejected sigh. Ziggy then noticed that he wasn't supposed to think about his lollipop. He gave a nervous chuckle once more.

"Sorry, Sportacus. It's just that my sweets always seem to make me lose focus," Ziggy told him.

"It's okay, Ziggy," Sportacus told him, giving him a small smile.

"Hm... I don't know why Stephanie would avoid you. She's always been giving you her full attention ever since we were kids, and she's liked you for a long while too," Ziggy told him before licking his lollipop happily as if he achieved a great reward for finally finding out the last flavor in that lollipop of his.

Sportacus sighed; he already knew that. He just didn't understand the sudden change of her behaviour towards him. Unfortunately, Sportacus didn't understand the meaning behind Ziggy's words. Ziggy knew Stephanie was in love with Sportacus. He wasn't as dumb as people think. It's just that sometimes he didn't word his sentences the right way for people to understand.

"Thanks, Ziggy. Well, I'm going to get back to my airship. Watch out where you walk, okay?" Sportacus told him before he yelled ladder and started climbing up. Ziggy nodded.

"I will, Sportacus!" Ziggy waved and Sportacus waved back.

"I wonder when Sportacus and Stephanie will get together," Ziggy said only to himself before he walked happily away while licking his lollipop in doing so.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**: Sorry for the late update again. This is for you daliajalia. The updates for this will be really slow. So if I hadn't updated it, it means that I didn't write it yet. I am updating whatever has the most reviews, so I apologize for anyone who is anticipating for this story.

Chapter Six

Lina thanked the studio before leaving the building with a few copies of the picture that she promised the Lazytown teens. While she was walking around, she noticed Stephanie sitting at a lone bench. She walked towards her and sat next to you. Stephanie seemed to not notice Lina as her head was lowered and her fingers twirling against some sort of ribbon. Lina kept quiet but handed her the copy of the picture which startled Stephanie from the sudden view of the picture. Stephanie looked up to see Lina smiling at her.

"I'm not going to ask just take," Lina told her, knowing well that Stephanie must have conflicted feelings inside her.

Stephanie took the picture and smiled. She saw the genuine looks her and her friends gave in the picture. She finally found out why a professional is different than when a novice takes it. The picture helped Stephanie smile and not long before she chuckled as she remembered what she said to Ziggy when the photograph was taken.

"Thanks, Lina," Stephanie said. Lina nodded with a smile.

"It's a photographer's job to make beautiful memories for the client," she told her.

"I... I need some advice, Lina," Stephanie said nervously.

"Sure. I'll help if I can," Lina answered without a second thought.

"I like this one guy but he's too old for me. But it isn't about how old he is that is the problem. What I'm actually saying is I want to admit my feelings for him but I am afraid of the heartache when he turns me down. What should I do?" Stephanie asked.

"Well, for one, I believe it is best to keep things simple, Stephanie. If you feel that you can't bear to hold these feelings inside, tell him. Well, that is what I would do. As for you, I can't give you just a simple answer. I know this sounds corny and overused, but the best answer I can give you is to do what you want to do and to just listen to your heart," Lina told her.

Stephanie sighed sadly.

"Can't things ever be easy?" Stephanie asked rhetorically.

"If you want it to," Lina said with a smile. "Every choice has its consequence, no matter what choice you make. It's just that some consequences are more worse than others."

"Have you gone through tough situations like this before?" Stephanie asked, noticing her tranquil demeanor.

"Not in the love department but life in general," Lina began which made Stephanie look curiously at her. When she saw Stephanie's eager eyes for her to go on, Lina smiled and continued. "You see I'm still healing from an incident that happened years ago. I've done and said things that I've regretted and the same thing for what I haven't done or said. Regret is the one thing that prevents me from being happy with my life. So my final advice to you, Stephanie, is don't have regrets. Don't let the 'what ifs' prevent you from being happy."

Lina stood up and looked at her warmly before she patted Stephanie's shoulder, said goodbye, and left for her to think. Stephanie sat there silently, flabbergasted at Lina's speech. Stephanie knew Lina had an underlying meaning to her message. And after what Lina said and her expressions as she said it, Stephanie realized that she didn't want to regret the things she hadn't said to Sportacus.

"I guess... it would be much better to confess. The pain might not be as bad as I am feeling now," Stephanie muttered.

"What are you doing here sitting down by yourself, Pinkie?" Robbie asked, disgusted at the girl before him.

"Hm? Oh, nothing," Stephanie said quietly. Robbie eyed her questioningly, knowing she was lying but he didn't really care.

"Have you seen Lina Leisurely?" Robbie asked immediately afterwards.

"Lina? Oh, she just left. Over there," Stephanie said while pointing at a direction.

Robbie turned and saw a glimpse of red hair, far off in the distance. He looked over at Stephanie for a moment, grumbled a thank you before walking off to the direction that she pointed. Robbie hoped that the pink young woman didn't hear him thanking her. He would rather be buried a hundred feet deep if word got out that _the_ Robbie Rotten was being nice for once. But of course, nothing works out for Robbie. Stephanie was caught completely surprised when she heard a faint "thank you" from Robbie. It was the first time in her life to actually hear those words from his mouth but she giggled after she got out of her shock.

Understanding Robbie for some time now, Stephanie knew she had to keep the nice Robbie moment a secret. The last thing she wanted was Robbie planning her demise for spreading the word out that he was being nice. And of course, Stephanie knew he was comfortable in playing the lazy, villianous Robbie Rotten.

Soon after, her mind shifted back to her current problem, her confession. She needed to pick a day to confess, probably whenever she sees Sportacus. But knowing Sportacus, he would always find a way to meet her every day. Which in her dismay, would be at any moment now. She just hoped that it wasn't too soon.

And to her dismay, she didn't get her wish. There, out of nowhere, Sportacus came jumping towards her with a smile on his face. And of course, Stephanie became a nervous wreck in the inside. Her mind completely blank and she felt like she was about to vomit any time soon.

"Sp- Sportacus... wh-what are you doing here?" Stephanie stuttered even though she tried to remain as calm as possible.

"To see you, of course," Sportacus told her with a smile before he nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"Me?" Stephanie asked, her eyes widened in surprise.

"Y- yeah. I just wanted to... apologize," Sportacus told her in a kid-like manner as if he's apologizing for something bad he's done.

"Apologize?"

"Yeah, for, you know, whatever made you ignore me. I don't remember what I said or did, but I'm sorry for whatever it is that I did say or do," Sportacus told her with his innocent puppy-eyed shy look.

"Oh, you've got it wrong, Sportacus," Stephanie began, realizing how much guilt Sportacus must have felt for her ignoring him. "Well, I'm not ignoring you because of something like that. I'm just... feeling quite nervous around... you."

"Me?" Sportacus' eyes widened. "_Why would she be nervous around me?_"

"Well, I actually want to tell you something for some time now, but I was just too much of a coward to tell you..."

"Coward? You aren't a coward, Stephanie. From all of the years I've known you, you are very brave," Sportacus told her, laying his hand on her shoulder while doing so. And of course, Stephanie winced and blushed from both the compliment that Sportacus gave her and the nervousness in her stomach when he put his hand on her.

"W- well... I'm going to say it then, so be prepared Sportacus," Stephanie said nervously even though it was meant to sound confident.

"Say what?" Sportacus asked, looking at her worriedly.

"I, well, I- I like you, Sportacus!" Stephanie yelled while her eyes were closed, afraid to see his response but waited to hear his answer. Sportacus stared at her strangely but smiled kindly.

"I like you too, Stephanie. I thought it was obvious," Sportacus answered. Stephanie opened her eyes, surprised at first but feeling very happy. "It would be strange if we are friends but didn't like each other."

That statement immediately crushed her hopeful happiness. Stephanie's head lowered and started to tear up, but she put her brave face on and looked straight at Sportacus with all of her strength.

"Not in that kind of like, Sportacus. I like you as in romantically," Stephanie said courageously even though her heart pounded hard against her chest as if it was about to leap out. She held in her breath when she finished speaking and waited for Sportacus' answer but this time she held a determined look at him.

Sportacus was fully surprised. He frowned and looked at Stephanie with an apologetic look. And of course, Stephanie knew what that meant. She lowered her head and tears started to brim in her eyes at knowing his answer, but she had to listen to it.

"I- I'm sorry, Stephanie. I don't think of you that way," Sportacus told her and Stephanie immediately ran away after she heard his answer.

Meanwhile, Lina stopped her tracks when she heard Robbie calling her out. She turned around to see Robbie and started feeling all tingly inside. She knew this sort of feeling and what it meant; she was just surprised on the person that the feeling is emerging for.

"_This can't be. I like Robbie Rotten?_" Lina thought, surprised at the sudden realization.

Lina became frozen in shock about her feelings for Robbie and was so deep in thought that she completely forgot Robbie was in front of her. All the while, Robbie tried to catch her attention. It was useless when she didn't answer him and Robbie wasn't the type to be patient.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Robbie asked her, shaking her for a bit. Lina finally woke up from her daze and looked over to Robbie.

"Robbie, I think I like you in a romantic kind of way," Lina said straightforwardly though she blushed the reddest shade while doing so. Even though she shouldn't have confessed to him suddenly like that, Lina always thought that simplicity was best, and it also suited her personality the most. Waiting would only burden her and hurt her even more, she learned all of that from experience.

And of course, Robbie was completely shocked and stood frozen with his mouth wide open.

"_Sh-sh-she l-l-likes me? And she said it directly to me too_," Robbie screamed in his head. And all of a sudden, he fainted. Fortunately, Lina was quick to catch him in his arms.

"_Well, this went well than I thought. At least, he didn't have a heart attack_," Lina thought before she stared at Robbie for a moment and sighed.

A frown had suddenly appeared on her lips. She remembered her conversation with Stephanie and hoped for the best for her. Not many have success on their first love, Lina hoped that Stephanie wasn't one of those people who was rejected. In some way, she always thought blue and pink go well together.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**: I finally wrote the chapter for this! Yay! I do apologize for the late updates. I have like five stories that needs writing and there are some that made me hyped up to write (not that this doesn't). Hopefully, you like this chapter. This is for you, Nathalorial and all the others that reviewed. Sorry for not listing the rest of you guys. I'm kind of lazy at the moment.

Chapter Seven

When Robbie finally awoke from his shock, he looked up to see he was resting on Lina's lap on the bench of the park. He immediately sat up before screaming and hiding behind the nearby trash can. Lina rolled her eyes before standing up.

"You obviously need to learn how not to overdramatize everything, Robbie," Lina told him before she started her way towards him.

"No, don't come too close," Robbie squealed. Lina rolled her eyes once more and continued on her way to him before she picked him up with a hand. And of course, he yelped in response.

"I'm guessing you don't like me the way I like you," she told him before she let the collar of his shirt go.

"I-I- I don't!"

Lina cringed at how loud he could be and made sure she didn't have a migraine.

"No need to yell, Mr. Rotten," she told him before she started walking away from him. Robbie was confused and surprised before he followed behind her.

"Where are you going," he asked.

"Packing up," I told him.

"Why?"

"I'm leaving Lazytown," she answered. Robbie's mouth opened in surprise.

"Leave? Why are you leaving? I know that I don't like you, but you don't have to leave for that reason," Robbie frantically said before Lina shook her head and chuckled. This made Robbie more confused.

"I am leaving for work, you silly man. I've got to get back to BusyCity again," she explained. Robbie gave a sigh of relief, but Lina gave out such a mischievous smile before she said, "Although, I might find a great guy there and live at the bustling city instead. Don't you think that's a great idea, Robbie?"

This shocked Robbie greatly before he stood straight up and looked away.

"Like I care," Robbie said though his voice squeaked a bit.

Lina chuckled to herself before he held Robbie around the shoulder.

"There's no one else I would rather be than with you," she told him before kissing his cheek. Once again, Robbie froze and fainted. Lina caught him and chuckled. "Sweet dreams, Robbie."

She carried him all the way to his home and found an easy way to get him inside and lay him on the orange couch. Not long after, she went to her apartment and packed up some clothes in her duffle bag and sighed. She had planned to stay in Lazytown and find a job there, but Busycity seemed to ask more and more of her help to finish some projects that didn't even originally involve her. She was supposed to be out of the job when she moved to Lazytown. But somehow, her workplace needed her to take pictures, and she couldn't say no to the people who gave her the job in the first place. Regretfully, Lina knew she would be going back and forth, knowing soon that her former workplace wouldn't let her go for a while.

Suddenly, someone knocked on Lina's door. Lina opened it to meet a tearful pink Stephanie. Of course, Lina frowned at the sight and let her in. And she knew, all too well, she must have been rejected by the blue sports-hero.

"It hurts, Lina. It really hurts," Stephanie cried. Lina went into her bedroom and gave Stephanie a tissue box. Lina waited for her to start; and as if Stephanie understood, she told her story of how she confessed and how Sportacus turned her down.

"I don't have anything that can heal or mend a broken heart, but I do have an offer for you," Lina began, a smile gracing her lips as she said so.

"What?" Stephanie sniffled.

"Why don't you come with me to BusyCity tomorrow?"

Stephanie's face was full of shock. She said nothing but stare at Lina. Lina sighed before she looked at Stephanie as well.

"You don't need to answer until tomorrow afternoon. It would be like a… how should I say, a vacation? You'll be able to have fun; you won't have to think about the rejection; you'll see what the busy life would be like; and the best part, you don't have to see Sportacus for a while. What do you think?" Lina asked before she started to drink her bottled water.

"That's sounds… great," Stephanie said in a whisper.

"And again, just think about it and answer tomorrow afternoon. There's no rush in deciding, although I'll be leavin at around four o'clock," Lina told her before Stephanie nodded.

"Okay," said Stephanie quietly.

"Since you are already here, why don't we watch a movie? I heard this movie was great, all action-packed and no tearjerkers."

"Sounds great," Stephanie said, giving her a smile. Lina nodded.

"Let me pop some popcorn," she said.

"No butter, if you don't mind," Stephanie told her.

Lina chuckled and said, "I don't mind at all."

Sportacus was full of thoughts. He was now sitting inside his airship. He couldn't forget how he broke poor Stephanie's heart and it made him go crazy to watch her run away like that. But he knew, it was best to not get near her for a while. When he thought that, he wondered if his friendship with her will ever be the same. He started to exercise like crazy, forgetting his own advice to not do that. He just couldn't stop and he couldn't get the tearful Stephanie out of his mind.

"What. Have. I. Done," questioned Sportacus in-between breaths.

He continued on working out till it got dark. He heard his alarm set off for him to get to bed and so he brushed his teeth, got into his pajamas, and went to bed. But he couldn't sleep. The image of Stephanie continued to play in his mind, making it hard for him to even sleep. It took until three o'clock in the morning for him to finally get some sleep. But even then, the image of Stephanie continued to haunt him.

_Sportacus was in Lazy Park and having a good time moving around and exercising. It wasn't until he saw pink hair that he stopped. A mischievous smile went on his lips before he went behind her and slowly crept up to her. He was about to surprise her; but as his hands went on her shoulders and yelling a 'boo', she suddenly disappeared. Astonished, Sportacus looked around for her. He was quite unusually frantic but calmed himself when she was only a little far from him though he was quite confused as to how she got there._

_He tried to do his trick again on her, quietly getting behind her. But when he got close to her and put his hands on her shoulder, she turned around before he could say 'boo'. And to Sportacus' astonishment, it wasn't Stephanie that turned around. It was the man in purple clad, Robbie Rotten. Sportacus jumped away from him, wondering why Robbie was wearing a pink wig on his hair and wearing a pink dress. This was beyond Sportacus' expectation of Robbie. It was silly when he disguised himself so many times, but it was getting over-the-top if he disguised himself as Stephanie. But one thing suddenly came into Sportacus' mind, how could he not know it wasn't Stephanie? She was shorter than the guy before him, but he knew it was Stephanie because he knew her so well. How did she turn out to be Robbie Rotten? He needed answers._

"_Robbie, what are you doing," questioned Sportacus, "Why are you dressed up as Stephanie?"_

"_What are you saying? I'm not dressed up as her," Robbie answered._

_Sportacus was rather surprised that Robbie was wearing his purple outfit again. Sportacus rubbed his eyes and saw that he wasn't wearing Stephanie's outfit at all. This confused the little-above-average hero even further._

"_Where's Stephanie?" Sportacus automatically asked._

"_For a sports-hero, you forget easily. She's gone. Left Lazytown to accomplish her dream of being a stupid dancer," Robbie said, air quoting 'dancer' and 'accomplish her dream'. "Now leave me alone!"_

_Robbie left, pounding his feet before disappearing suddenly. Sportacus was finding it odd about everything becoming peculiar today. But the one that struck a chord was Stephanie leaving Lazytown._

"_She left? But… she didn't say goodbye to me," Sportacus whispered to himself before saying confidently, "There's something wrong going on."_

_He flipped, walked on his two hands before flipping again before he got to Mayor Meanswell's house. He knocked on his door before he saw a sad Mayor opening the door. When he saw that it was Sportacus, Mayor Meanswell's cheeks became puffed up with anger._

"_What are you doing here, Sportacus?" Meanswell asked with anger._

_Ignoring his anger, Sportacus asked, "Where's Stephanie?"_

"_She left. Gone. Because of you," he said before he cried._

"_Because of me?" Sportacus repeated, shocked._

"_It's your fault she left," said Trixie out of nowhere with three others behind her._

"_My fault?" He repeated once more._

Sportacus woke up instantly from his sleep. He looked around his airship, seeing that he was in bed and woke up early in the morning. He gave a sigh of relief and thought it was a dream. But even though he thought it was a dream, he rushed himself to Mayor Meanswell's home. He knocked on the door, and it was Stephanie that answered the door. This wasn't the person that Stephanie expected to see. She felt completely numb to see Sportacus, and Sportacus felt completely uncomfortable.

"St-Stephanie, how are you doing?" Sportacus asked nervously. This snapped Stephanie out of her stunned state.

"I- I guess… I'm good. A-and you?" Stephanie asked uncomfortably.

"Yeah, I'm good too. Um… I'm sorry about yesterday. It's just that…" Sportacus started until he felt someone kick him on the back of his leg though it didn't really hurt. He turned around to see an angry and huffing Trixie.

"What do you want with Stephanie, " Trixie asked, her hands on her hips. "You hurt her feelings, so why don't you just leave her alone. It's your fault she's leaving Lazytown."

This instantly made Sportacus eyes turn wide.

"Leaving?" Sportacus questioned before he turned back to Stephanie.

"Trixie!" Stephanie yelled sternly at her and then faced Sportacus. Even though she felt hurt to see him, she didn't want him to feel bad like she was feeling now.

"It's only a small trip that lasts for three days. I'm going with Lina, and it's not like I'm leaving Lazytown for good just yet," Stephanie explained suddenly but gave an awkward laugh afterwards.

"Oh. Um… have fun then," Sportacus said.

"Thanks," Stephanie said with a small smile before she realized something. "Oh. Are you looking for my uncle? He's out at the moment."

"Oh no," Sportacus answered immediately. "I just… wanted to see how you are doing. That's all."

"Oh," Stephanie could only say.

"Move it, Sportacus. I need all the time I need to speak to Pinky today before she leaves with Lina at four." Trixie told him before she pushed lightly for Stephanie to get inside and shut the door on Sportacus' face.

All Sportacus did was stare absent-mindedly at the door.

**A/N**: Robbie's shocked response after waking up was Nathalorial's idea. I used it because it sounds more comedic than my original.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N**: I am so sorry for those who waited for this chapter. I was too caught up with one of my stories that I just didn't want to write a chapter for this one. I finally got the chance to make a chapter for this. Hope you all like it. Sorry if it's short. I thought it would have been a better choice to stop it there.

Chapter Eight

Stephanie's eyes lit up in awe at the lights and busy streets of BusyCity. Lina smiled calmly as she got a taxi for both of them to find a hotel to stay in. Luckily, there was one hotel room vacant. In BusyCity, almost all average hotels were used up. As they went inside their room, Stephanie gasped at how clean it was. It had two beds in this place and one bathroom. A television set had been set to face the two beds. There had been a small table and there was a microwave in the hotel room as well.

"Don't get too caught up in this kind of life. It will only damage your health," Lina told her as she placed her luggage down.

"What do you mean?" Stephanie asked her. Her brown eyes stared at her curiously. Lina let out a small smile before she relaxed herself by laying on the bed.

"The more busy you become, the more you become unhealthy. I had to get away from such a lifestyle because of everything that kept on building up. Sometimes, there is no choice but to eat junkfood. It made me so sick I had to be admitted into the hospital," Lina explained before she rolled on her bed and then stretched.

"Oh..." Stephanie could only say as she couldn't help but think about Sportacus. She unconsciously frowned, letting Lina notice.

"Hey, now. No frowns on a vacation."

Stephanie looked over at her and looked at her apologetically. Lina sighed, looking up at the ceiling afterwards.

"I've got to go to my workplace early tomorrow. You want to come along?" Lina asked before she yawned.

Stephanie smiled brightly and said, "Of course! I want to see you in action."

Lina chuckled and nodded.

Meanwhile at LazyTown, it seemed like Sportacus was a walking corpse. Something inside him was missing. He sat back on a bench outside the park, looking rather depressed. He tried to get some energy back in him, but he found fruits and vegetables didn't help. Exercise definitely didn't help. He sighed, yet it didn't help things at all. By then, he felt someone sitting beside him. He turned his head to see Robbie Rotten just as depressed as he is.

"What's wrong with you, Robbie?" Sportacus asked, maybe making conversation would help.

"I should ask you the same," he spat before crossing his arms like a small child being in detention.

"I don't know," Sportacus answered, sighing once again.

"Me either," Robbie said in frustration.

"I miss you, Richard," a young woman cried before she held onto the man before her.

Robbie and Sportacus watched as the couple embraced each other a few feet away from them. Robbie was disgusted yet somewhere in him felt a pang of hurt as he couldn't take his eyes off the couple. Sportacus felt more depressed than ever before even though he should be happy that a couple were reunited.

"I missed you too. I shouldn't have run away from us. I almost lost the one I loved to another man. I'm not going to make the same mistake ever again," the one named Richard said to the young lady, "I love you, my dear Katherine."

The young woman was in tears now before she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I tried to forget you, but I couldn't. I love you too much, Richard," she told him before they started to smooch.

Robbie felt irritated now.

"What is this? A romance movie?" Robbie asked irritatedly.

He felt frustrated now. He didn't like the empty feeling he had in his stomach as he watched the couple. Not long after, the couple left, happily holding hands.

Sportacus kept quiet yet there was a small sad smile on his face. He felt empty as well. Sportacus didn't understand why he felt this way. It wasn't like him to feel so sad like this, and the feeling felt too foreign for him to understand. Did he need a doctor for this?

"You like that Pink twerp, don't you?" Robbie asked after he settled down from his irritation. Sportacus's eyes widened before looking at Robbie with confusion. "I'm not blind, you know, Sportakook. Ever since she left, you seemed out of energy. It's no fun chasing you out of Lazytown when you are down like that, and I kind of pity you."

Sportacus frowned and wondered what Robbie said was true. He was right about him feeling down since Stephanie left. All of his thoughts were always on Stephanie. He felt emotionally drained without Stephanie.

"And you, Robbie? Do you like Lina? You seemed different without Lina here," Sportacus told him.

Robbie froze at her name for a moment before he looked over at him nervously but tried to deny it. He failed.

"Psh, of course not," he answered, "I'm glad she's gone. I don't need her to go into my business."

"If you say so, Robbie," Sportacus only replied.

Silence emitted between the two men that were supposed to be enemies (well, to Robbie that is). It was rare that Robbie didn't try anything. He just didn't feel like it right now. They sat there until they couldn't take it anymore. They went their separate ways while thinking about their predicament. If they stayed doing nothing, they may lose the ladies in their lives. And of course, they knew that, but somewhere inside them were hesitant. It was as if something is holding them back. And they knew in their hearts, it was all or nothing for them.

Stephanie was so caught up with the busy lifestyle that she missed Lazytown and her friends. Lina noticed and patted Stephanie's shoulders. Stephanie looked up at her and Lina smiled at her.

"Lazytown is meant for you, Stephanie. I just don't see you living this life," Lina told her as people pushed past her, not apologizing for bumping into her.

They made way to a restaurant to have something to eat for dinner. It was just as busy in there as it was out there. Waiters and waitresses tried to accommodate to the needs of the customers. Lina was used to seeing the bustling of the waiters and waitresses coming in and out in such speed. Stephanie was just appalled at everything. Does this city ever slow down?

"Table for two," she said to the man at the stand. The man nodded before he told them to follow him. He had given them a booth and gave them their menus before leaving.

"You need to pick fast," Lina said.

Stephanie looked confused but looked over at the menu quickly. Lasagna sounded nice to her, but she wanted to look through the menu thoroughly before she ordered. Before Stephanie even knew it, a waiter had suddenly come out of nowhere.

"What kind of drinks would you like?" The waiter asked, quickly taking out a notepad and pen.

"I'd like to have natural hot green tea, please," Lina told him. The waiter nodded before he stared at Stephanie. "And you, miss?"

"Oh... um... just water," Stephanie said, rather lost.

"Your orders?" The waiter continued to ask.

"Spaghetti and meatballs," Lina told him. The waiter nodded and looked over at Stephanie.

"Vegetable lasagna," Stephanie replied. The waiter wrote down their orders and nodded.

"Okay, it'll be out in a bit," he told them before he picked up their menus and quickly left.

"Is it always this busy?" Stephanie asked, uncomfortable at the speed everyone was going.

Lina nodded before she sat back comfortably.

"After being here for a while, I still can't get used to it," Lina admitted truthfully, "It takes a lot of energy out of you if you aren't born here."

"I miss my friends, my uncle, Betsy, and I even miss Robbie Rotten," Stephanie suddenly said, "I miss Sportacus too. It just doesn't feel right running away like this after I know how I feel about him and how he feels about me. I just feel like a coward, now that I've gone out and thought about it carefully. Everyone makes such quick decisions here without even thinking about it. I should have given more thought in going with you than just making sudden decisions like that."

Lina smiled and leaned in happily.

"Good, because I'm about ready to leave. Let's just spend the rest of our vacation in a much more steady and quiet place," Lina told her. Stephanie smiled and nodded.

The waiter came by with their food and drinks by then as they both ate their food with smiles on their faces. Knowing her resolve, Stephanie felt a bit easier than before.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N**: I am very sorry for the late update. I was a bit lazy (no pun intended) in writing this fanfic. I finally have the time to update, although it is quite short. Hope you like it and enjoy!

Chapter Nine

Lina and Stephanie woke up early to get ready to go to Lina's workplace. After they were refreshed and ready, they left in a cab with Lina's camera set in the trunk. And before they knew it, they were already at a tall and large building. Stephanie was in complete awe when she first laid eyes on the building. Lina chuckled before tugging Stephanie lightly to get going. They both walked inside to a large and spacious room. It didn't take long before Lina was attacked by a few journalists asking her questions. Lina politely declined them all, but they were quite persistent until their eyes laid on a celebrity and leaving Lina and Stephanie behind to walk along.

"Wow, they change their minds fast," Stephanie said. Lina chuckled.

"I am actually glad they did or else they would never let me off the hook," Lina told her. Stephanie nodded in understanding. "Well, we'll be going in an elevator to the fifth floor."

"Okay," Stephanie replied.

They were in an elevator with several other people. The people there seemed to know Lina and greeted her politely and Lina returned the gesture. Stephanie was surprised at how well-known Lina is in BusyCity. Lina looked over at Stephanie and smiled. Stephanie smiled back, knowing Lina was trying to make her relax.

When they were at the fifth floor, they walked a few steps before opening a door. Inside, there was already a model getting photographed. She looked amazing and the male photographer was excited taking pictures every few seconds while giving compliments to the model. He looked around like he was in his mid-thirties.

Lina had to clear her throat before the photographer took notice of her. The photographer turned and his eyes went wide when he saw her. He stopped taking the pictures and told the model she has a five minute break. He turned back to Lina and opened his arms to embrace Lina. Lina gladly received it.

"You are finally here, Lina! I can finally let you take over and take some pictures," the photographer said before he finally took notice of Stephanie. "And who is this lovely young lady?" He smiled at her and Stephanie smiled shyly in return.

"She's Stephanie. Stephanie, this is Andrew Smiles, my ex-boss and ex-co-worker," Lina told her. Andrew frowned at her last statement.

"I'm not ex- of anything as of yet. You still have pictures to take here," Andrew told her. Lina sighed and shook her head.

"I've already told you, Andrew. I'm no longer part of the company, and I only do free-lance photography now. I only took in the assignment because I felt obligated to. This is going to be my final assignment for this company," Lina told him. Andrew frowned.

"But..." Andrew started, but Lina stopped him from finishing.

"No buts, Andrew. I will come once in a while, but that's it," Lina told him. Andrew sighed while his shoulders slumped.

"Fine. With that determined look, I guess I'm just happy you'll come visit once in a while," Andrew replied sadly.

"Now, I'll get to work," Lina said with a smile, patting Andrew's back lightly. Stephanie watched Lina work, and she was awe. Lina pretended to take pictures of the model. But by the moment the model had her break, Lina immediately started taking pictures with such a fast pace. Andrew smiled.

"That's the way Lina works. She often works with new models because they don't know how she works. If she worked with a reoccurring model, the model becomes stiffer and tries to pose more," Andrew told Stephanie in a whisper. Stephanie nodded in understanding. Lina was truly a good photographer.

After Lina finished with her work, she drove Stephanie to a store. It was then Stephanie found out the store makes personal cameras. Lina gave a piece of paper that Stingy wrote detailing specifically the features he wants and other things. When they were finished looking around BusyCity, Lina and Stephanie finally felt settled with staying at an inn in the countryside near BusyCity. It was only an hour drive to get back to BusyCity, which the girls didn't mind as much. Unlike the hotel in the city, there weren't that much electronics in the inn. Stephanie and Lina seemed not to care about it either. It seemed in the countryside they could settle down and relax from looking at nature.

Robbie and Sportacus seemed far off in their thoughts. And once again, they sat next to each other on the bench. If people walked by and saw them, they would be shocked. It wasn't normal in Lazytown to see such a rare scene of the hero sitting next to the villain and vice versa. But then again, Robbie and Sportacus did not notice one another. It was as if they automatically sat there to think.

By the time they realized it, it was already one o'clock in the afternoon. They had stayed there for five hours. They were shocked to see each other sitting on the same bench.

"What are you doing here, Sportakook?" Robbie asked.

"I should ask you the same thing, Robbie," Sportacus replied, but he didn't look disgusted like Robbie did.

"I asked first, Sportafool," Robbie spat.

Sportacus let out a sigh and began, "I don't know what to do when Stephanie returns. I'm not even sure what to say."

Robbie quirked his eyebrow for a moment before hanging his right arm loosely on the back of the bench.

"So you finally figured your feelings out for that pink cheerleader?" Robbie asked. Once again, Sportacus let out a sigh except it was much heavier than the first.

"Her name is Stephanie not pink cheerleader, and I don't know how I feel anymore. I never even thought about romance at all. I was just too focused on being the hero of LazyTown that nothing else mattered until now," Sportacus stated. Robbie shrugged his shoulders as if gesturing he didn't much care about his predicament. "And you, Robbie? Why were you sitting here?"

"Nothing for you to know. But if you really wanted to know, I could tell you," Robbie started. Sportacus smiled, but he really wasn't that curious, not with his mind being surrounded by Stephanie. When Sportacus stayed quiet, Robbie felt irritated. He wanted to tell what was in his mind. "Well, since you asked, I'm thinking about Lina. She's the most annoying woman I have ever met! She just won't leave me alone, not even in my thoughts. That woman will be the death of me some day! She's like a pest, you know. Everywhere I go, she's there. Well, not physically, but she's been plaguing my thoughts. I can't sleep because of her. The icing I love on my cake seemed to lack flavor and sugar. It's like she's there, but she's not. And it's making me go crazy!" Robbie let out his frustrations by messing up his slicked back hair with his fingers as he

Sportacus couldn't help but smile at Robbie's rant . He could see Robbie truly cared about her. And in a way, he seemed worried about Lina's well-being. Sportacus let out a third sigh. The swirling feelings inside Sportacus had taken a toll on the confused hero. He had wished he could let out a rant like Robbie did, but he didn't know what to rant about or what to say. He was completely and utterly lost.

Hopefully, things will get better when he would see her tomorrow. It was high time he had the courage to talk about the topic involved. Unfortunately, there will always be a twist. Robbie and Sportacus will have to face something they never thought would become the most painful experience for them.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N**: I deeply apologize for not updating for those who read this story. I wasn't sure if I should continue it since it seems not that much people like this fic. But with some motivation again, here is the new chapter. I hope you all like it. I'm pretty sure I lost some readers, but I am still happy to those who still read it. Please review if you can. Happy Reading!

Chapter Ten

Robbie Rotten paced back and forth nervously. Lina and Stephanie would be coming back to LazyTown today. He couldn't seem to feel settled enough when he had the call from Lina. For some reason, he felt oddly calm to hear her voice. But after she ended the call, he felt restless. His thoughts were all muddled up, and his stomach had been attacked with a strange swirling feeling inside. He figured his stomach was feeling this way because he ate something bad, not knowing he was way off on his diagnosis. He also felt a mix of relief of her return. And oddly enough, he started whistling as he greased his hair in the mirror and made sure his hair was made into perfection. He also seemed to iron his clothes and made sure there was no speck on it when he wore it. After he thought everything looked perfect, he started to make weird expressions on his face as if he was practicing how to react when he saw her. There were plenty of smiles he tried to make. None of them seemed to look natural and odd looking than anything. Some of them are scarier than others, especially his big toothy grin. It was as if his trademark smile is the only natural smile Robbie could muster. It fit his character perfectly, but Robbie sadly wanted to try something different, something that didn't seem like he would eat children for lunch. It was then Robbie realized he was being unlike himself and frowned.

"What am I doing? I'm just meeting Lina," he whispered quietly to himself.

After his realization, Robbie made his way to the train station waiting for Lina's and Stephanie's arrival. Just as he got closer to his destination which was only a few more steps he needed to take, his nerves started kicking in and he froze on the spot. His palms started sweating and he suddenly gulped. He had forgotten to practice on how to greet Lina. And now, he was left standing there mortified even though he could see Stephanie's friends and Sportacus' backs, standing on the platform waiting for the girls' arrival.

Before Sportacus got to the train station, his thoughts were also muddled like Robbie. In doing so, he started practicing on how to greet Stephanie. He smiled at the thought of the pink-haired girl. Memories of them started replaying in his mind. Though he loved to continue his thoughts, he snapped out of his trance enough for him to get ready. For some reason, like Robbie, he made sure he looked perfect. After finally noticing how long he stared at the mirror, he sighed and shook his head.

"What am I doing? I'm only meeting Stephanie," Sportacus whispered to himself. He sighed again and hoped his friendship with Stephanie would still be there.

Just as he got onto the platform, his nerves started kicking in. His positive thoughts started becoming negative. What if Stephanie hates him now? What if she wanted to break off her friendship with him? What would Sportacus do if that ever happened? Sportacus suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Blue eyes stared blankly at nothing in particular.

On the other side, Stephanie and Lina were enjoying their train ride. They swapped stories of their lives. Lina mostly talked about her job and Stephanie talks about her first vacation in LazyTown. There was much to talk about between the two that they didn't notice they were already in LazyTown. The girls chuckled just as they got off the train. Right away, Stingy, Trixie, Pixel, and Ziggy greeted the two. They welcomed them with open arms. There were a lot of 'how was your little trip?' and 'I miss you' or variations of it.

Stephanie's uncle couldn't make it because he had so many papers he needed to go through as mayor. Mayor Meanswell couldn't help but mutter how unfair it is but still continued his work when his wife scolded him that it wouldn't happen if he had done the paper work in the first place. Truthfully, he wanted to but he injured himself plenty of times in which prevented him doing his work. And before he knew it, the papers piled up when he was still recovering from a small fall.

Just as the hero and the villain heard Lina's and Stephanie's voices, Sportacus and Robbie jerked awake from their stupor at their respective partner's voices. They tried to act as normal as they could be while Robbie strided towards the group from his rooted place. Robbie felt like his knees were being wobbly. Well, he was really wobbling since Lina gave him a worried look.

"Robbie, you okay? You seem shaky," Lina asked. Robbie's eyes widened for a moment before coughing and standing up straight. His usual cocky attitude returned in an instant.

"Of course I am. Just too much hot chocolate. Sugar, you know," he answered with an awkward laugh. Lina seemed to not believe him but thought it best to just take it as it is.

Meanwhile, Stephanie was chatting happily with her friends except for Sportacus. He stood there, just staring at Stephanie. He waited for her to notice him, and his heart slowly ached when she seemed not to call out his name though he was happy she came back safe and sound. He was also glad to see her usual cheery smile. He missed it the past three days. He sighed when he thought Stephanie was purposely ignoring him. In her defense, all her friends seemed to try to shield her away from Sportacus. They seem rather too energetic than usual and tried to get her attention, not knowing they knew how Sportacus broke her heart though Ziggy was just only in his sugar high and not really trying to get in the way between the blue hero and the pink angel. And her being Stephanie, she noticed Sportacus's dejected figure. She sighed and put her hand up, signaling everyone to stop being rowdy. It worked. They stopped and she thanked them for it. She made her way to Sportacus but Pixel tried to stop her. Stephanie gave him a questioning and intense look. Pixel gulped and got out of her way.

Stephanie stood in front of him and laid a hand on his shoulder. Sportacus jumped at the touch and noticed Stephanie's brown eyes looking into his blue orbs. Sportacus smiled and felt weirdly giddy. He was so happy she wasn't ignoring him.

"Are you okay, Sportacus?" Stephanie asked softly, a worried look evident on her face.

"Yes," he answered with a soft look, "Welcome back."

"I'm good to be back," she said with a big grin and then suddenly hugged him.

Sportacus was shocked and so did the rest of her friends, but he returned it quickly. Her hair smelled like fruits, and he missed it. He missed her so much even if it were only three days. Now that he realized this, he wondered if he would be able to take it if she went to college out of LazyTown. Sadly, he does not know he was falling for Stephanie. Ever so slowly, she took his heart piece by piece.

Lina stared at the hero and angel and smiled. She hoped they will become a couple. It would be a shame if they didn't. But who knows? Life is full of obstacles and even the most perfect couple may never get together.

"Robbie, tell me truth. How do you feel about me staying in LazyTown? If you don't like it, I will leave," Lina stated. She then looked at him, waiting for a response. Robbie was surprised by the question and started to fiddle with his vest.

"Wh-what? If you want to stay, just stay. You don't need to ask for my permission," he told her nervously. Lina sighed and shook her head.

"You're my friend, Robbie. If it makes you that uncomfortable with me here, I could move some place else." Lina placed a hand to his cheek. Her eyes staring straight at his, showing him that she was serious. Robbie was speechless and turned to look away, not from the intensity of it but how beautiful her eyes seemed to be to him.

"I didn't say I want you to leave, did I? So that should tell you something," Robbie mumbled. Lina stared at him before chuckling and giving him a hug. A bone crushing hug that almost took the oxygen out of Robbie. He didn't seem to mind though since a natural smile graced his lips. A smile that was never practiced on a mirror. It was no smirk either. It was just a smile that only belonged to Robbie Rotten for the girl in red clothing before him.

"Oh yeah, I brought you a souvenir," Lina said before taking his hand and placing a cake keychain on his hand. She quickly peck him on his cheek. Robbie's eyes widened in surprise and his face started turning red.

"Wh-wh-" Before Robbie he could ask his question, he fainted. Lina caught him on time though he was a little heavy. She laid him softly on the ground.

"Wow, that's one way to get rid of Robbie," Pixel stated. Lina smiled in amusement and shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, Stephanie has the rest of the souvenirs for you guys. I'm going to get Robbie back home," Lina said before giving Robbie a piggyback while making sure his arms are around her shoulders. She could feel him grab onto her properly even when he is unconscious. She quietly chuckled. "I see everyone later then. Bye."

"Bye!" Everyone said in unison. Lina turned around and made her way to Robbie's lair. A quarter of the way there, she started hearing Robbie mumble in his sleep. She smiled and started to softly sing a lullaby.

After Stephanie gave out the souvenires, Stingy, Ziggy, Pixel, and Trixie left Stephanie and Sportacus to chat alone. Trixie was reluctant at first but left them after Stephanie told her many times she would be okay, and she had to speak to Sportacus privately. While Trixie left, she kept on giving glances at Stephanie a few times as well as giving glares at Sportacus just as much. Stephanie sighed in relief when Trixie left.

"Sorry about the way they acted, Sportacus. This should only between us," Stephanie apologized, her eyes filled with guilt. Sportacus waved his hand to and fro as if it was unnecessary to apologize.

"No need to apologize. I understand how they feel. I would even be angry at myself too," Sportacus stated. Stephanie gave a small smile at him.

"I still love you, Sportacus," Stephanie said. Sportacus froze at the words. She huffed a sigh, knowing he would act this way. "I took the trip with Lina because I wanted to run away from the pain, but I found out I was being cowardly with my feelings. So here I am. I don't want to hide. I know you don't return my feelings, so I will try to move on. Until then, I think it is best that we don't get so close to each other or else I will continue to love you." She let out breath and looked directly in his eyes.

"We can still be friends, but we just can't have close contact like we used to until I can get rid of these feelings I have for you," Stephanie finished. Sportacus merely stared at what she said. He felt hurt for some reason when she told him that they can't have close contact, but he swapped the feeling away. He nodded.

"Thank you, Stephanie," Sportacus said, not knowing he would regret to agreeing to it.

"You're welcome, Sportacus." She smiled brilliantly.

They walked quietly home together. Sportacus gave a side glance to Stephanie and the space they had between them. Even though they were close to each other, they weren't as close as they used to be. He would even have his hand around her shoulder as they walked. He still wanted to, but he held his hand back, which was itching to be placed on her shoulder.

"So what did you do while I was gone?" Stephanie asked, breaking the silence between them.

"Oh, uh, nothing much. Saved a few kids and animals. I did a lot of exercising and some thinking," Sportacus answered. _A lot of thinking actually_, he thought. "And you?"

Stephanie giggled, excited at the thought of the trip.

"Oh, I had loads of fun. BusyCity is actually too busy for my tastes, but it is an interesting place. Lina's workplace is marvelous as well as her work. We also toured the country side there. Very calm and peaceful," Stephanie said with a smile.

"I'm glad you had fun," Sportacus replied, returning her smile with his own. None of them realized the space between them was no longer there. They still did not realize it when they continued to chat about other things.

Time seemed to pass by too quickly for them when they realized they were already at Stephanie's house. It was then did she notice how close they were and decided to back away. She blushed, finding out how she unconsciously closed the distance between them. Sportacus frowned and felt hurt when she put space between them again. He shook his head mentally and tried to be cheerful like always.

"Thanks for taking me home, Sportacus." Stephanie didn't look at him when she said it. She was still bothered by the close proximity from before.

"You're welcome, Stephanie. I'll see you later then?" Sportacus looked over at her hopefully at the question. Stephanie found it strange that the latter statement became a question. She looked up at him and found herself shocked to see Sportacus looking for permission.

"Of course, Sportacus," she answered without a doubt. She didn't like the look as if Sportacus thought he was in the wrong. He did nothing wrong. Nothing at all. Stephanie knew that, and she hoped Sportacus knew it too.

Sportacus smiled brightly. Stephanie sighed in relief to see Sportacus smile. She would never realize how impactful she was to him. After a minute, Stephanie decided to open the door. Before she widened it, Sportacus spoke again.

"Oh, and Stephanie?" Stephanie turned around and looked at him questioningly.

"Yeah?" Sportacus smiled and found Stephanie to be cute with her look of confusion.

"Thanks for the souvenir," he said, showing her the painting canvas of a sunset.

Stephanie giggled and nodded.

"I knew you would like it. Bye, Sportacus." Stephanie waved at him.

"Bye, Stephanie," he said with a big grin before waving at her in return and then leaving to his airship. And for the first time in the three days without her, he felt happy. And for some reason, he felt at home again.


End file.
